Awakening
by Maethril2
Summary: When caught in an unexpected situation, Gambit and Rogue will have to trust each other if they are to survive. Dark Horizons AU.
1. Into the unknown

(translation/originally posted in 2011)

 **A/N:** Begins in the episode Dark Horizon; however, with a different outcome.

 **xXxXx**

 **H** e had returned to life.

After so much effort and fighting, his returning could not be prevented. His aim one: to obtain absolute power.

However, hope had not vanished, for a small group will do everything in their reach to detain his plans.

They will die fighting if that is what it takes.

Former enemies – X-Men, Brotherhood and Acolytes –, now they fight side by side against a common foe.

Unfortunately, victory did not seem to be by their side. They watched it slip through their fingers as an invisible force threw them all aside as if they were fragile pawns on a chessboard.

Impotently, they watched the ascension of the greatest adversary any of them had ever confronted. The bitter taste of humiliation blending into the fear of an uncertain and tenebrous future.

In that moment, they knew they had been defeated in their first battle against their newest and most powerful enemy.

The war was yet to come, though.

Wolverine was the first one to rise to his feet. He rushed to Xavier. "She's gone, Chuck. She's disappeared" he spat the words out in anguish and impatience.

"Calm down, Logan!" Xavier said as he tried to disguise his own agitation with calm and measured words. "Who's disappeared?"

"Rogue" Wolverine whispered, seeming to have suddenly lost all his strength.

* * *

 _Wolverine's gaze was of pure despair as he ran towards Rogue. His legs seemed not to obey his will, like in a damn nightmare, they moved in slow motion. He yelled his protégée's name at the top of his lungs and watched Apocalypse rise from his millenarian tomb and float over the girl's fainted body._

 _Apocalypse came at him and everything else happened too fast. Wolverine did not have time to think; taking action was all that mattered. Guided by impulses and instincts, he lashed out at_ _Apocalypse for what seemed to be an unbalanced fight._

 _Gambit, who had been watching the scene unfold, saw from afar a disoriented Rogue open her eyes. She struggled to raise her head up and try to figure out where she was. It was all she could do, for Apocalypse had drained her empty._

 _Gambit rushed to Rogue's side and laid her head in his arm. "Hey, can you hear me?_ Chère _?"_

 _Rogue did not answer, though. Gambit's words were nothing more than an echo resonating painfully inside her head. She tried hard to open her eyes once again, but it was all in vain. She was nearly unconscious again._

 _Wolverine bitterly realized he would not be able to get to Rogue if he kept on trying to stop Apocalypse from escaping. When he saw Gambit with her in his arms, Logan had no choice but trust the young Acolyte._

 _"Take'er outta here!" he cried._

 _However, there was no place to go._

 _Rogue was finally able to open her eyes. She saw Logan fall under his foe's blow. She tried to call him but could not find her voice. Her hand stretched some feet away from him as if somehow she could touch him._

 _Even though he was then lying on the ground, Logan smiled at Rogue when he realized that she had come around to her senses. Ignoring the disorientated look on her face, his smile guaranteed that everything would be okay._

 _Apocalypse was about to cast a likely last blow_ _against Wolverine when he felt something burn in his back. He turned his sadistic face around and smiled disdainfully as he saw Gambit holding cards between his fingers, with Rogue still leaning on his other arm. Gambit was about to throw more explosives, which would likely only make Apocalypse madder, or as he had intended, distract the villain while Wolverine recovered and buy time while they waited for backup._

 _The distraction was enough for Wolverine to rise to his feet once again; however, Apocalypse took a different turn, one that none of the mutants could have predicted._

 _He did not attack Wolverine; instead, he cast his cold gray hand at the two youngsters on the other side of the cave. Even though Wolverine could anticipate what was about to happen, he was not fast enough to stop the blow._

 _All Gambit could do was shield Rogue's body with his own and, with eyes strongly closed, wait for the inevitable. In a fraction of a second, Gambit felt the strike._

 _Down, deep down, he heard Wolverine scream something unintelligible; his voice slowly dying down. Logan watched desperately as the two young mutants evaporated into thin air in front of his very eyes._

 **xXxXx**

 **To be continued…**

 **A/N:** This is a brief beginning to a long story.

It's a translation and I could use some help. I'm looking for help, so if anyone interested in reviewing the chapters, please let me know.


	2. On the edge

**xXxXx**

 **G** ambit struggled to remain conscious; if he gave up, it would be his end.

He felt a tightness in his chest and the pain that came with it increase as the air evaded his lungs. His blurred eyes did not see much. Each piece of his clothing demanded a terrific effort when he tried moving.

The most disturbing part of it all was that he did not have the faintest idea of how he had wound up wherever the hell he was.

When he spotted a glimmer of light a few feet away, he put all his strength into every muscle of his body in an attempt to emerge.

He was close to the surface when he saw a figure going down slowly. A few seconds were enough for Gambit to realize the shadow belonged to Rogue.

Just like that, Gambit found himself in a dilemma. If he tried to reach for her body, perhaps there would not be enough air to take them safely to the surface; on the other hand, if he tried to breathe before helping her, it would be Rogue who would not get out of that alive.

Not having time to think further, Gambit acted. With swift movements, although difficult and painful, he was able to reach Rogue in time. He grabbed her by the waist with one arm while the other fought to bring up the weight of two bodies.

In a few seconds – which felt endless to him in his struggle – Gambit could finally breathe again. He felt the air coming in through his nose and mouth, filling his lungs, and the relief. He held Rogue's head above the water for she was unconscious.

Gambit looked around, and although the sun hurt his eyes, he was able to spot dry land about a hundred fifty feet away. He took her jacket off to reduce the weight, and summing up all the strength that was left in him, swam to the shore.

Not only was there the weight of his clothes and the difficulty to breathe, but also the weight of Rogue's body. But Gambit would not simply let her drown while there was still some strength inside him. He was her only chance.

Luckily, the sea was calm; waves were sporadic and impelled them closer to the shore.

After long minutes, they finally reached ground.

For a few moments, they lay down on their stomachs, faces down on the sand.

Gambit tried moving but could barely open his eyes. He was completely worn out. His head was spinning around, every muscle of his body ached. He was not yet able to control his breath pacing while the grip in his chest was still present. His whole body burned, not only because of effort, but also the heat. It was hard to focus.

At some point in time, having some of his strength restored, Gambit rolled over. He remained lying on his back on the sand, hearing his heart beating in his ears. For the first seconds, he could not keep his eyes completely open, as the sun made it hard to do. He blinked several times, and protected his sensitive eyes by holding a hand above them. As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing around, except for some rocky formations and some vegetation of sparse coconut trees. And miles of water and sand.

Gambit turned his face to his left side, and with his eyes half-closed, found Rogue's inert body almost within his arm's reach. That was when the fact she was not breathing sprung to his mind.

In a brisk movement – which he regretted immediately as it became way too painful –, Gambit pushed himself to a sitting position. He took off his soaked coat and boots as fast as his aching and exhausted body was able to and crawled until he was kneeling next to her.

He carefully rolled her body over. Luckily her clothes were intact, that way he would not run the risk of accidently touching her.

Without wasting any more time, Gambit rushed to first aids. First, he tried performing cardiac massage. Once, twice, three times. He lowered his ear to her chest, and realized that his attempts did not take effect. He could barely hear her heart beat.

The next step would be trying mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but he knew that if he touched her bare skin they would both be unconscious, therefore there would be nothing else he could do to help her.

Gambit ran his hands through his soaked, sticky hair, afflicted. He then watched her for a second. It looked as though she was peacefully asleep. He brushed the thought aside immediately, though. He had not fought that far to let her die on him.

He would follow with the procedure. He had come to the daring conclusion that few seconds touching her skin would not be enough to knock him out.

He then moved her hair away from her face and did his best to remove sand grains pasted to her mouth without actually touching her.

At his first attempt, he blew into her mouth, making minimum physical contact as possible and only for few seconds. Much to his surprise, Gambit did not even feel the pull of her powers.

He tried once again, now longer. Then again. At his next attempt, he plugged her nose with one hand and held her chin with his other as his lips lingered on hers. With his fingers once again entwined, he massaged her chest. Again, he lingered on her lips, breathing life into her.

In a painful cough, Rogue finally expelled the water that was preventing her from breathing. Relived, Gambit stepped back so she could go back to breathing normally.

Confused, Rogue made an unsuccessful attempt to sit up, and ended up resigning herself to getting her head up and prompting herself on her left elbow, oblivious to the young Acolyte's presence.

The situation started to make sense in Rogue's head only after she heard a voice ask her if she was alright. And even though the voice was hoarse due to the salty water, it was still surprisingly soft.

Rogue turned her startled face to where the voice had come from, and saw Gambit, kneeling near her.

The adrenaline that rushed through her body, due to her surprise, gave her the necessary strength to sit up; she did not move again, though, as her whole body froze.

Her wide-open eyes stared at his, holding them. Even without looking around her, Rogue could have an idea of where she was. She felt her covered body burn from the heat as well as the uncomfortable sand grains brushing her skin.

Gambit, in his turn, did not say a word; preferred that she made the first move as soon as she felt recovered.

Rogue tried to speak but her dry mouth prevented her words from coming out. She cleared her throat, and after one more try, she was finally able to find her voice.

"W-w-what happened?" she stuttered, just as stunned as confused.

Gambit fell to his butt, feeling even more tired than before. "Long story, _chère_. Long story."

When his eyes moved away from hers, Rogue finally looked around her. There was no sign of life. "Where are we?"

"I have no idea."

Rogue frowned, bewildered. "What do you mean? You didn't bring me here?"

His turn to look confused. " _Quoi_?"

She raised her hands to her head; nothing seemed to make any sense. "What'd you do to me?"

"What did I do to you?" he asked, dizzily. "I just saved your life."

"What did you do to me?" she restated, now in a more menacing tone, punctuating every single word, and ignoring his last remark.

"I didn't do not'ing except trying to help. I saved you from drowning" he answered, more harshly than intended.

"Ah don't believe you" she retorted as her face gained an increasingly ferocious look.

Rogue refused to believe in what he was saying. His every word must have been nothing more than shameless lies.

For that was what he did: lied, deceived, pretended, used whomever it was until he got what he wanted. A mutant who had the guts to become Magneto's thug could not possibly be more than that.

"Dat's up to you" he said, impatiently.

When Rogue realized that Gambit was about to stand up, she gathered strength and, unpredictably, cast herself at him, making him fall to his back. Her hands pressing his shoulders against the ground, her body weighing on his, her legs straddling him.

"Why and how did you bring me here?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Gambit neither said nor tried anything. Only a smirk appeared on his face.

Confused by his lack of action, Rogue let her guard down, only for a second, which proved to be more than enough for Gambit to make a move.

With movements that Rogue could not follow, Gambit rolled their bodies over, inverting their positions, so now he was on top of her. Gambit held her knuckles down on the sides of her head while his legs stopped hers from hitting him.

The weight of his body on hers and the way he was holding her turned her attempts to release herself fruitless.

Gambit brought his face close to hers proposedly to unnerve her and murmured: "Why you accusing me, _chère_?"

Rogue did not see the point in replying. That situation was getting more and more absurd. "Why won't you tell me what you want from me?"

"What I want from you?" he asked rhetorically, with that same smirk on his lips. He was starting to think that maybe she did not recall what had happened or did not want to.

Suddenly, he fell silent. His red eyes stared at her face in a way that made the situation intolerable to her.

"Let me go!" she yelled almost losing her cool.

"Or what?" he provoked "We're all alone here. Nobody can hear you."

"I don't need help."

That much was true. Hand-to-hand combat was definitely her strong suit, in addition to having the best teacher, attacking was part of her main training.

Unfortunately to Rogue, in the position she found herself in, the odds were against her.

They were both exhausted, which made any movement the more effortful. Gambit was physically stronger than she was, nonetheless Rogue knew that muscles did not matter when you had expertise. Problem was Gambit had both. He was able to hold her down in a way that it was as if he knew her weak points. Maybe he did, she thought.

The wrath Rogue felt when she realized she was trapped soon turned into fear.

Gambit's body pressing against hers was terrifying, it disarmed her, since not even her enemies risked getting so close to her.

Not even they took the chance.

She did not understand why that scene felt so familiar, as if it was repeating itself. She did not have time for that, though.

"You have two options, _chérie_. One, you believe me when I say dat I'm as much as a victim as you in this, therefore we can find a way outta here; or two, you go on accusing me and end up alone. Anyway, we can spend all day long here. What you say?"

"Ah have another idea."

Rogue had realized that the only way to knock him out was doing what she detested the most: using her powers. She knew she would hate having that arrogant Cajun inside her head but there was no other way around it.

Rogue touched his lips with hers.

Hard, cold.

She did not move again, just closed her eyes tightly as she waited for the worst part: when she would feel all his thoughts, all his memories, all his experiences, all his secrets take over her mind, becoming hers.

Seconds later and nothing happened; Rogue did not feel her powers activate. All she felt were confusing feelings that she could neither understand nor block out.

Something was wrong, she knew it right away. Her heart had never beaten so fast.

Rogue backed off and opened her eyes as though the world was suddenly new.

Gambit disguised his own surprise with a smirk. " _Intéressant_."

Rogue stared at him, shocked. Seeing her perplexed face, Gambit let her go. Rogue tried standing up but fell on her butt.

Gambit gave a half laugh. "Didn't work out as well as las' time, huh?" she flashed an even more baffled look at him, not minding her watery eyes "Ah, dat's right" he continued, sarcastically. "You have no memories of our last encounter."

In fact, neither did he. The security cameras at the Acolytes' headquarters had told him everything he needed to know, though. He watched the girl knock him down with a mere kiss. Bold, he had thought back then. The girl had attitude.

"What are you talking about?" she asked; now her tone of voice was not threatening but afflicted. "How'd we end up here?"

Gambit frowned sincerely to her last question. "You really don't remember, do you?"

Rogue tried to recall the past few hours but there was nothing more than flashes.

She remembered waking up that morning having a splitting headache. After that, everything turned white. Later, she found herself in a completely strange place. There was a man in some sort of tomb, and suddenly he got up. It felt like a nightmare. That is what she thought that was: a nightmare.

Rogue woke up from her reverie. "If Ah did, Ah wouldn't've asked, you idiot."

Gambit's face turned dark; he looked offended by the disgust she dissed him. "You'll t'ank me soon enough" he said as he walked away and sat down away from her.

Downhearted, Rogue struggled to recall anything else, but it was no use, it just made her head hurt even more.

She was starting to believe that Gambit really had nothing to do with their being there. Slowly, she started to let her guard down.

From tough and unshakeable, Rogue turned into a frightened girl.

Gambit saw the miserable expression on her face with the corner of his eyes. He suspected that her harsh and rude words were actually a defense mechanism to keep people at arm's length.

He got up and stepped closer to her. Rogue saw his shadow but did not move.

"We're getting outta dis, _d'accord_?" he said, awkwardly.

"Ah don't want your help" she retorted with a snort without looking at him.

Gambit took a deep breath, making an effort not to lose his patience. "You'll need it anyway. If you didn't notice, we were all fighting together against a greater evil."

She squinted at him; her face as hard as before. "That doesn't make you any less my enemy" she said, teeth gritted.

Gambit snorted and walked away aimlessly, angrily muttering something in French.

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**

 **Glossary:**

 _Quoi?_ – What?

 _Intéressant_ – Interesting

 _D'accord?_ – Ok?

* * *

 **A/N:** First of all, thank you so much for the reviews for the first chapter. They make my day. Second, I'm still looking for a beta. The last thing I want is for our characters to sound foreigner, so anyone interested?


	3. Far and away

**A/N:** Firstly, thank you for the reviews for the previous chapters. Second, I still haven't found a beta, but here's the next chapter anyway. I hope you like it.

 **xXxXx**

 **R** ogue remained seated on the hot sand. The heat became the more insufferable as the sun burned her skin, even the parts that were not exposed. Tiny sand grains brushed her skin unpleasantly; they seemed to be everywhere. She could feel the taste of sand in her mouth. It was an awful feeling, to say the least.

She then took off her boots, socks and the one glove that was left (she had no idea what had become of the other one); however, it did not cool her down as she was still wearing a wool blouse and jeans. She could not even remember putting them on.

Rogue's eyes sought Gambit despite herself, and found him some feet away. She watched him take off his t-shirt and pants, and lay them spread out on a rock by the shore, so that they could dry.

Gambit turned to her as though he had felt her eyes on him. Rogue looked away as fast as she could and dissimulated.

"You better do de same..." he said loudly to make sure she would listen "get rid of your wet clothes."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, swamp rat?" she retorted "Not even in your most perverted dreams."

Gambit rolled his eyes. Why he still tried to be nice to her was beyond him. " _Très bien_. Pass out from the heat, den."

He was beginning to regret getting into trouble to save that ungrateful girl's ass. It was exasperating how in a matter of minutes his feelings towards her oscillated considerably. From pity to anger, from compassion to more anger, from trying to understand her to completely detesting her.

Nearby, Rogue cursed under her breath. She hated to admit he was right and, much worse than that, admit she was in the wrong.

She got to her feet and, putting more distance between them, hid behind another rock in an attempt to get away from the Acolyte's line of vision.

Rogue felt instant relief when she stripped off her blouse. Underneath, she wore a second skin tank top. Since it was made of a thin material, she hoped it would quickly dry on her body. However, she knew she would not be that lucky regarding her jeans, so she forced herself to get rid of them, too. All of a sudden, she saw that Gambit was walking in her direction and tried to cover herself with the jeans she had just taken off.

"Don't even think about it" she warned. "Stay away from me."

Gambit rolled his eyes once again and snorted. " _Avec tout le plaisir_ " he said mockingly before turning around, brushing aside whatever he was going to say.

"Hey!" she yelled a minute later when she noticed he was putting too much distance between them. "Where you think you're going?"

Gambit halted and turned around, annoyed. "I'm gonna find out where the hell we are" he yelled impatiently from afar.

"Ah'm going with you" she said as she picked up her clothes.

Gambit threw his arms in the air out of impatience, letting them fall numb right after. "Do you really t'ink you can walk wearing all dose wet clothes? You'll slow me down. You better stay here."

In few strides, she reached him. "No!" she said, holding her clothes against her body. "Ah don't trust you. Ah'm going with you. End of discussion."

"Den do yourself a favor and leave your clothes here" he commanded, even more impatiently. He turned on his heels and began walking again.

Rogue balked at it but resigned herself to leaving her clothes behind so they could dry off in the sun along with his clothes. And so, with a proud posture and transparent determination, she hastened her steps to reach him, walking no more than two steps behind him now.

As Rogue wore nothing more than a tank top and panties, she did her best not to show how self-conscious she was at her own half-nakedness. Luckily for her, Gambit did not even glance at her once.

"I'm warning you" he said out of the blue "if you hurt one of your pretty little feet, don't go t'inking I'll carry you de rest of de way."

Rogue grimace but was able to bite an angry retort back. She was determined not to take the bait. In addition to that, she also gave up on asking anymore questions for the time being, inasmuch as there were no guarantees he would not lie; she had better try and remember by herself.

They walked in silence for approximately half an hour. In the meantime, Rogue could not take her mind off the X-Men. She had been trying to put her thoughts in order, but the little she recalled was not enough to make sense of anything, much less explain how Gambit and her had ended up on that beach. The more she struggled to remember, the more she worried.

Rogue was about to ask him another question when Gambit spoke. He turned to her and the look on his face was different from before. Besides fatigue, there was discouragement in his face. "It was a bad idea. We'd better go back to pick up our clothes. We may need'em. De sun's beating down on our heads and we have no water, no shelter. If we go on like this, we won't last much longer."

"So that's it?" she questioned "We'll just sit around and wait for rescue?"

"I'm not sure someone's coming to our rescue" he answered, suddenly looking away to the sea. "We shouldn't count on it."

"The X-Men won't leave me here."

"Here?" he said as he turned to face her. "Where is here? They may not even know where we are."

"They'll figure out a way to find me," she insisted, not changing her proud posture "you can count on _that_ , Cajun."

Gambit paused and pondered. " _Ça suffit_! But for our own sanity, we better find out where we are and den try to find a way out of here. But that'll have to wait... at least for a few hours."

"You go back, then" she said, firmly. She would not live up to her name if she were to wait around. "I'll look for a way out of here, and then _maybe_ Ah come back for you."

" _Pas question_!" he snapped back, asserting himself. "No fucking way! Don't matter how strong you think you are, you won't stand a chance under de sun."

Rogue felt her blood boil and go up to her face. "When did we agree that you're the boss?" and in that moment all her obduracy went down the drain. "Ah'm going and you can't stop me" she said as she turned on her knees.

Gambit got honestly tempted to just let her go so she could learn a lesson. However, he knew it was not a good idea, because if she passed out, he would have to carry her.

Well, better to carry her now.

Rogue had barely taken her first steps when Gambit grabbed her by the waist and threw her on his shoulders like a barbarian. She nearly let out a scream of surprise. However, Gambit soon regretted his actions, after all, Rogue was not like any other girl. Even though he was considerably physically stronger than she was, Rogue gave him a harder time than he had predicted.

She kicked at him, and punched him in his bare back, not to mention all verbal offense. She was furious in that moment. Not only at him, but mostly at herself. She could not understand how Gambit was able to immobilize her twice in less than an hour. She would be humiliated if Logan could see her in the situation she was in, she thought.

"Let go of me, swamp rat!"

Gambit hung in for long minutes, but at some point, among kicks, screams and punches, Rogue successfully made him lose his balance. They both went to the ground. Gambit landed on his back while Rogue fell flat on her face.

This time around, Rogue was faster. Before Gambit could get to his feet, she put herself on top of him in a way similar to the one before – with her straddling him – but this time she would be prepared in case he tried to invert their positions again.

She pointed a bossy finger in his face, and threatened him. "If you touch me one more time, Ah'll make you wish you weren't born, Cajun."

Before her threat, Gambit smirked mischievously. "Who's touching who, _chère_?"

As Rogue realized what he was implying, she stood up swiftly. She had not noticed her other hand laying on his chest. Not to mention the fact that this time they were barely dressed, so that other parts were making skin to skin contact as well.

Rogue turned her face away, flushing. "You're warned" she threatened once again as soon as Gambit was on his feet. She tried to keep her composure and what was left of her dignity.

They walked back to where their clothes were without exchanging any more words. They reached their previous location even more exhausted and thirsty.

"We'll have to spend de night here" Gambit pointed out before letting himself fall to the sand, disheartened. "We need t' find a way to get some water an' some kinda shelter."

Rogue snorted in disbelief, and also sat down on the sand. "How do you intend to do that, smart-ass? We haven't found anything other than sand and more sand..." picking up a handful she threw it away "and more damn sand."

"Your negativity is sure not helping matters" he mocked.

"Or mabbe you're a good-for-nothing" she snapped back using the same tone of voice as his.

Gambit stood up, his face burning red. "If you tried to come up wit' an idea instead of complaining, who knows, we might get outta here faster."

She also rose to her feet so that she could stand up to him on par. "As far as Ah know you didn't have any brilliant ideas either, except walking under the sun and then turning back as cowards."

Gambit took a deep breath but could not keep it together anymore. He stepped close to her, all but invading her personal space, making the situation uncomfortable to Rogue. She did not back off solely out of stubbornness.

"Somet'ing needs to be clear between us" he finally snapped at her; the sudden firmness of his words stopped her short and caught her attention. "All dis tough goth girl attitude. I don't buy any of it. You can yell and threaten me all you want. Ah don't give a shit. If you haven't noticed yet, we're stuck in dis together; all we have is each other. And if I were you, I'd start playing nice, or else t'ings can go very wrong."

Rogue gasped, but could not help being shocked. No one stood up to her like that. She found herself utterly speechless and let Gambit walk away without a reply. She stood motionless for a moment and then crossed her arms over her chest. "Ah had to be here with you, of all people" she murmured to herself, not to stir him up, but Gambit heard her anyway.

Her statement pissed him off even more. "O'course not, you rather be here wit' dat one-eyed boy scout."

Rogue turned to face him, perplexed, her eyes wide open. "What did you just say? Ah, Ah... where'd you get this crazy idea that Ah'm into Scott?"

Gambit chuckled pleasurably. "I didn't say that. You did. You don't have to lie to me, _chère_. Any idiot can see you're crazy about dat loser. But who can blame you? Girls love de bad boy, but, in the end, they always settle for the wimp good guy."

As Gambit set his teasing game in motion, Rogue stepped closer to him. Her eyes flaming in rage. "Speaking out of experience, Gambit?" she asked, emphasizing his name.

Gambit held her eyes and did not answer for several seconds. "De thing is, he's head over heels wit' de pretty redhead."

Rogue made a tight fist and her face hardened even more.

Gambit smirked, satisfied. His teasing caused the desired effect. "It hurts, doesn't it?"

"Jerk" she spat the word out, turning her back to him.

" _Très bonne réponse, chérie_. You either ran out of arguments or you're mad cause you know you'd never have a chance wit' him."

In that moment, Rogue turned to face Gambit, and he noticed that the furious look on her face had turned into disappointment. Suddenly, he was not proud of his words.

"You don't know me" she said, in a softer, hurtful tone "you know nothing about me."

"I know more dan you think."

The seriousness of his voice grabbed Rogue's attention. Suddenly, she was all ears. "Whataya mean by that?"

"Exactly what you think... _Anna Marie_."

Once again, Rogue could not help an expression of bemusement. Her astonishment at hearing her name after so many years made her legs shaky. For a moment, she got paralyzed and incapable of saying anything.

"Dat's your name, right?"

Rogue went up to Gambit, stretched out to make up for the height advantage he had over her, and raised her head up defiantly, standing up to him. The only thing that stayed was her hurt, broken look. "Nobody knows mah real name. How can you possibly know?"

Before her gaze, Gambit regretted touching on the subject. He avoided looking at her as his hands involuntarily touched his sides looking for a cigarette in the pockets of the coat he was not wearing. Smoking had always had a soothing effect on him, and gave him an excuse not to look at people's eyes. He would kill for one in that moment.

Frustrated, Gambit stood still for a long time. Rogue did not insist on her question verbally, but her eyes demanded an answer.

Knowing that sooner or later he would have to tell her the truth, Gambit chose to do it now and get that all over with. "Ol' Bucket Head has files on all of you" he started; his posture and voice typically nonchalant. "Don't worry. We, mere employees, didn't have access to them."

The confession did not seem to surprise her. "It still doesn't explain—"

"—as we didn't have access, I had to break into dose files an' take a quick peek at yours."

Rogue frowned, confused. "Why mine?"

Gambit shrugged as though it did not matter. "You looked interesting."

"You didn't have the right" she said, although not in an accusing voice, more helpless than anything else.

"No," he concurred with a smile "but I did it anyway, _ma chérie_."

"Don't _chérie_ me" she demanded. "Ah have nothing to do with you."

He watched her closely with half-closed eyes, intrigued. "Why does it bother you so much… the past?"

Rogue crossed her arms and looked away, pretending to take an interest in the sea. "Anna Marie no longer exists. She died the day she hurt someone."

He gave a half-laugh; it sounded more like air blocked by his lips. A hybrid of laughter and sarcasm and understanding. "I got news for your, _chérie_ : no use trying to forget de past. Don't matter how hard you try. You can't. De worst memories are de ones dat stay deeper…"

Something told her he knew what he was talking about. At that point, Rogue had her eyes on his again, but now she saw so much pain as he uttered those words that she thought it was impossible to continue staring at them. "Ah know" she said softly before walking away. She sat somewhere. Somewhere away from him.

The sun was dying down and did not seem to bother as much. The sea was pretty as well, she thought. That place was altogether gorgeous. It would be a paradise if that situation was different.

Gambit watched her from afar. "We got off the wrong foot, _chère_ " he said to himself.

Rogue kept on watching the sea, lost in thoughts. Now, besides the heat and her dry throat, her stomach started to burn from hunger.

Nearby, Gambit climbed up one coconut tree almost effortlessly, and quickly knocked some coconuts down to the floor. He came down the tree with a leap and graciously fell down like a feline. He picked up one coconut and looked for an appropriate cluster of stones. Once he found one, he steadied the coconut in it, picked up a bigger stone and dropped it onto the pointy part of the fruit. After three knocks, fissures appeared on the thick husk, weakening the fibers enough for it to be peeled. After finding a pointy rock, Gambit knocked the hard, brown part of it at the exact spot, which made the fruit split perfectly in half.

Gambit clearly knew what he was doing, Rogue thought as she watched him curiously. Much to her surprise, he approached her. "It'll quench your thirst and ease your hunger for now" he said as he handed the sweet and succulent fruit over to her.

Rogue accepted it silently, nodding as a thank you, once again taken aback by his gentle act.

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**

 **Glossário** **:**

 _Très bien_ – Great

 _Avec tout le plaisir –_ With all pleasure

 _Ça suffit! –_ Ok!

 _Pas question_! – No way!

 _Très bonne réponse –_ Great answer


	4. Broken heart still beating

**xXxXx**

"After that they just vanished into thin air."

Wolverine said with gritted teeth, and fell silent. He could not hide his anger and the feeling of impotence for not having been able of saving Rogue. That much was clear with every word he uttered.

X-Men, Brotherhood and Acolytes, gathered in a room at the Xavier mansion, listened to the story in silence.

Back in Tibet, Xavier tried to find Rogue telepathically, but there were no signs of her whereabouts nearby. She might as well had been anywhere. The best they could do was to return to the mansion, since there, there would be a greater number of resources at their disposal.

Wolverine proved himself hell-bent on searching for Rogue, though after much insistence, he finally perceived how fruitless looking for her in the snow would be.

His anxiety only grew, as their returning home was not as fast as they all would have preferred. They found themselves without transportation, since the Black Bird stayed in Egypt. Therefore, long hours had gone by until everyone was back to Bayville, Mesmero included. He was not allowed to leave their sight for as long as what would be made of him was yet to be decided.

"What do you mean by vanished?" Kitty asked, in the back of the room, breaking the silence that came about as Wolverine's recounting of the events had come to an end. Her eyes were wet as she put her arms around Kurt. There was no telling who was comforting whom.

A wistful complexion covered the Professor's face. "As far as we know, during the night, Mesmero managed to put Rogue under his control in order to absorb the powers of the mutants around her; later on, Apocalypse took those powers from her."

"And he used them... amplified" Wolverine snarled.

Xavier concurred. "He must have used Nightcrawler's teleportation abilities. As the stolen powers were amplified at his disposal, Apocalypse did not even need to touch them in order to make them disappear in a surprisingly easy fashion."

In the back of the room, Nightcrawler closed his eyes as a painful expression flashed his features.

"We need to find her as soon as possible" Wolverine said in a burst of anger greater than usual.

In a corner, Creed gave a mocking laughter. "If they're alive."

In a fraction of a second, Wolverine struck out at Creed. His claws shining before his face. "Say that again, I dare you, you bastard."

Xavier intervened. "Stop it!" he said firmly "Fighting should be the least of our concerns at this moment" then, turning to face Magneto: "Magnus, please, tell your... associate to leave the room."

With a snarl, Sabretooth exited the room. Telepathically, Xavier assured that Creed had indeed left the mansion.

"If they are together..." Magneto said "they must be alive. Gambit is very skilled."

"Exactly" Wolverine said. " _If_ they're together. Wouldn't come as a surprise if that thug of yers hadn't already walked out on her without thinking twice."

"He wouldn't do that" Kitty's broken voice came out. Her eyes popped wide with surprise as she saw all the eyes on her; however, she insisted on her statement. "He wouldn't" she reiterated, shaking her head for emphasis.

"Supposing they are together" Xavier continued, trying to keep his voice as calm as he could. "They may be anywhere on the planet. It won't be an easy task locating them."

Cyclops spoke out for the first time. "I thought with Cerebro you could find anyone anywhere in the world, Professor."

"I'm afraid it is much more complex than that, Scott. If Rogue does not use her powers, it will be harder of a task. It could take hours, days."

"Then why are we standing here doing nothing?" Wolverine burst out once again. "We have to do something."

"Please, try to calm yourself down" Xavier all but begged. "I will not rest until Rogue is safe."

"But how can we know she's really alright?" Kitty questioned, nearly succumbing to her crying.

"We can only hope, Katherine" Xavier said, gloomily.

The Professor then left for Cerebro. The others saw no other option but to wait.

"Charles?" Magneto called. "What about Apocalypse?" he asked as he walked alongside Xavier's wheelchair.

"Hank is gathering information on him."

"It's not good enough, Charles."

"I'm sorry, Erik" Xavier said "But we cannot afford to plan a strike against Apocalypse before we have any clue regarding Rogue and Gambit's whereabouts."

"I see" Magneto said grudgingly after a pause. "I will take action and uncover a way to take Apocalypse down. But before that, I will help you. With my magnetic powers amplifying Cerebro, it'll be easier to make any progress."

Xavier smiled. "Thank you, old friend."

* * *

The temperature dropped drastically as soon as the night fell on the deserted beach. Hot days, cold nights.

The stranded mutants' clothes had not dried completely yet, but it should be enough to protect them during the night. Since there was no shelter, they had no choice but to spend the night on the sand, in the open air.

Gambit found some sticks and started a fire near the rock where their clothes had been earlier in order to prevent the wind from blowing out the flames. As long as he had his skills and powers, they would not run out of fire easily.

Rogue was sitting a few feet away from where Gambit had lit the fire, uncomfortably dressed in her still damp pants. She stayed still for the past few hours, completely lost in her thoughts.

Gambit knelt near the fire and rubbed his hands, trying to forget the hunger setting in. He then shot a glance at Rogue. Her sadness was all but palpable even as she sat away from him. Moved with compassion, Gambit approached her.

"Hey, _chère_ " he said softly. Rogue looked up at his face. "Come sit closer to de fire. You'll feel better" with that he walked away.

Rogue stood up slowly and sat down across from Gambit, the fire between them, she held her legs firmly against her chest. She avoided looking at him for as long as she could, however, could not stop from stealing a couple of glances at him out of the corner of her eye, until she finally decided to speak.

As she sat by herself, Rogue had time to think and meditate regarding her situation. In the end, she realized Gambit had been right all along. Her refusing to admit that the two of them were in that together, and her willing to keep on fighting would only make things worse.

"What's your name?" she asked suddenly, looking at him with calm eyes while her voice sounded lower and hoarser than she had indented. Gambit merely flashed a glance at her.

Rogue knew that she had been a difficult person to deal with for the few hours since they had found themselves on that beach, but did not think he would give her the cold shoulder.

"You know so many things about me" she tried again "the least you can do is tell me your name."

Gambit hesitated a little longer, so much so that Rogue thought that he would go on ignoring her.

"It's Remy" he said silently; his eyes neither left the roaring flames, nor did his body move. "Remy LeBeau."

Rogue gave a pure smile. "What else do you know about me, Remy LeBeau?" she asked, her voice sweet. Her real intention was to say his name as an artifice for sarcasm, but to her own surprise, she found herself liking the way his name sounded as it fell from her lips.

" _Pas beaucoup_ " he replied, after a pause. "Dere was only a brief summary 'bout your powers, and some physical information like height, weight, eyes color..." he then let his voice trail off, and for the first time for long, he looked straight into her eyes "Gotta admit, though. That blurred picture doesn't do you justice" he added gently. Rogue said nothing, though, which was his cue to go on. "I've watched you few times in de school. You've always looked so... sad."

"Does that surprise you?" she asked with an impartial look on her face.

" _Non_."

"You don't seem to be full of happiness yourself, either."

Gambit allowed himself a small smile. "It takes one to know one, _n'est- ce pas_?"

Rogue smiled too, sharing the irony when another question sprung to her mind. "When you mentioned something about a supposed last encounter we had or something... Ah still don't understand what you meant."

She even came to thinking he was trying to mess with her head, although as she recalled the scene, it had been too natural to be phony.

Gambit had feared she would ask him that. He groped for the right words, but there no way of telling her but frankly. "You were not yourself."

"What do you mean?" she asked, frowning a little as she tried not to make any premature conjecture.

Gambit faltered for a second, even as he knew he could not avoid giving her an answer. "You were being controlled" he said, looking away as he did not want to see her reaction.

Rogue closed her eyes. There seemed to be an invisible hand crushing her heart. She had been used yet again. "By who?" she asked in a firm voice, flashing a grave look at him.

Gambit turned to her. "You sure you wanna know de details?" he asked dryly.

"No. Ah _have_ to know."

If that was what she wanted, she should be strong enough to handle it, he thought. "By this creep called Mesmero" he then paused, giving a half-laugh as he recalled the scene.

 _Mesmero_ , she thought. She knew that name. "Mesmero got ahold of some of the mutants in the Institute so they'd steal something in a museum for him" the memory of fighting her peers in a bizarre circle was as unpleasant as it gets. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind.

Gambit nodded, but said nothing. He had also fallen victim to Mesmero. The Cajun's proud, of course, would not let him reveal that he too had been controlled at some point. Since there was no indication that she knew, he was not going to be the one to tell her. Regardless, how someone had gotten into his mind so easily had always intrigued him. It made him wonder what the full extent of Mesmero's powers really were, and that would always give him the creeps.

Rumors that the villain had escaped Xavier was yet another reason for concern. If Mesmero was still on the loose, they would have much more to worry about. By that time, there was no way of Gambit knowing that Mesmero was locked up in the Institute.

"You knocked me out good" he said to break the silence "O'course, you knocked everybody out."

Rogue's head started to hurt badly. She expected things to start making sense at that point; instead, she felt even more disoriented.

"Everybody?"

"Yeah... X-Men, Brotherhood... Acolyte's... just about every mutant in town."

"But why?" she asked as her voice grew more worried and, this time, Gambit did not reply. She did not need any more guilt for being forced to be a part of Apocalypse's plans. Gambit had already revealed enough for one night. But that girl was not easily tricked. Not even by him. "You know something" she stated.

"I don't know not'ing."

He was convincing, but for some reason she did not believe him.

"Tell me what you know" she insisted, nearly begging. Her eyes intense, demanding an honest answer. "Please, Gambit. Ah need to understand."

Gambit shifted uncomfortably. "Do you really wanna know?" when she nodded, he continued. "You stole our powers. Den when he touched you, somehow, he took the powers for himself, so that he could rise up."

"He?" she echoed, afflicted, raising one hand to her forehead. Did not know her head could hurt so bad.

"Apocalypse" he said at once, no more beating around the bush.

"You mean Ah was really responsible for that monster waking up?" she asked, her eyes wet as her voice started to break down. She wished the glimpses she recalled were nothing more than a nightmare.

Gambit watched her silently for few instants, his features hardened. She stared at the sand blankly, and then turned her face away so that he could not see she was about to cry.

"It wasn't your fault, _chère_ " he said suddenly. "You had no responsibility for what happened" his words came out full of anger as though he refused to let her blame herself like that. Gambit, of all people, knew that guilty took its toll.

Rogue struggled to disguise her tears. Now the last scenes she remembered were falling into place. She would give anything to know if her family was safe. She turned to face him once she had recovered. "How'd we end up here?" she asked firmly, but nearly imperceptibly her voice trembled in the last word.

Gambit shrugged. "Apocalypse..." he said simply. His body seemed altogether relaxed, his eyes running from hers "it was an accident."

That was not what he had said before. "Why'd you help me?" she asked, now with her voice even sweeter, frowning slightly. She moved in a few inches closer to him despite herself.

"Told you already. We were on de same side."

"Fighting a common foe, Ah know" even though his eyes were fixed anywhere else, hers did not leave his face. "Doesn't mean you had any obligation to help me."

For the first time, she succeeded in leaving him speechless. Truth be told, he did not even know the reason himself. Back in that moment it had felt more than rescuing the damsel in distress. It felt as though there was something pressing his heart and telling him to make a move, quickly.

Given his silence, Rogue took a minute to look at him closely; she studied his face attentively for the first time. Gambit's jaw was stiffer than it seemed necessary. It was as if he was fighting something in his head.

Rogue noticed how striking Gambit's face really was. He had such strong features, seemingly permanent stubble and overwhelmingly enigmatic eyes. The few times Rogue had seen those dark eyes, this was the first they looked so intense. They practically shone in the feeble light. Even though Gambit was very young, he had tough features as someone who had been through so much even in such tender age. However, that only came through when he did not try to pass himself off as a carefree young man with his devil-may-care attitude.

It felt so familiar to her.

"You're not like the others" she said, aloof. Upon realizing her words had already come out, she went on anyway. "Pyro or Sabretooth... or the guys from the Brotherhood."

Gambit scoffed at her, laughing loudly. " _Bien sûr que non_. I'm handsome."

Rogue rolled her eyes, pouting. "That's not what Ah meant."

Of course not. He undoubtedly knew it. His smirk suddenly disappeared, and he stared at her through narrowed eyes. "Dat's what you think" he stated dryly. "Don't you remember what happened de first time we crossed paths?"

He had to bring that up so he could change the disadvantaged position he thought he was in.

"Ah do" she replied, firmly. "Ah also remember when you chased away those kids who were teasing me at school."

Gambit shifted uncomfortably once again. More than ever. He changed the weight of his body from one side to another, but did seem to find a comfortable position anymore. Yet, he looked straight into her eyes. "Had not'ing to do wit' you. It's unfair to pick on someone just because dey're different, and dat someone happened to be you" his statement was loaded with coldness and indifference.

Gambit remembered perfectly well, as if those scenes repeated themselves in front of his eyes: mocking and insults. _Diable_. _Diable_. He had always put up a fight – that was the only way, no one to protect him or advise him.

He took so much beating from the older boys that he lost count of. But Remy had never shied away from fighting. It was not long until the little orphan could be able to stand up for himself. Following his adoption (sometimes he wondered if it came too late) the training in the Guild served to perfect his already remarkable physical abilities.

Because of that reason, and many others, Gambit would never allow Rogue to think he was weak like the others. For he would never be. There could never be a hero with a checkered past as his. Even if he tried to forget – was that not impossible – the skeletons in his closet would come back to haunt him, sooner or later.

Rogue felt like an idiot for bringing that episode up, and apparently misjudging the situation. Regardless of that day being a coincidence or not, he helped her out without asking anything in return, and received nothing more than distrust back. That much she would remember.

For the next minutes, they did not say a word.

Rogue hugged her own body to shield herself from the cold wind; the heat emanating from the fire suddenly was not enough. She closed her eyes. There were just so many sentiments and emotions mixed.

She could not fathom what the worst part would be once she got back to the Institute. Either everything would be exactly as it had always been, or, because of her, because she had been an important part in Apocalypse's returning, things would be different, and she would be to blame for what had happened.

She stared down at her bare hands. The fact that she was now "touchable" did not seem to have changed anything. She was unaware as to how it had happened, and wondered if it really mattered. Sooner or later her powers would return – that is, if they still had not –, she was sure of that.

Maybe Gambit knew something.

"Apocalypse must've stolen your powers, too."

Gambit said so suddenly that Rogue nearly jumped out of her skin. Utterly confused, she flashed a look at the Cajun; however, Gambit had his head tilted down, covered in so many shadows, that she could not see his face.

Rogue seriously wondered whether he could read her mind, however, dismissed the thought as foolishness. In all likelihood, he was a good physiognomist, capable of reading someone's face without letting his own show anything. Her body language must have given her away.

His hunch was good and, above all, an evidence that her powers would not linger to return.

She closed her eyes once again, feeling the weight on her shoulders increase.

Figuring that she must be cold, Gambit took off his coat and laid it down on her shoulders. It was still slightly damp but it would be enough to protect her against the cold wind.

Rogue opened her eyes disoriented by her own distraction, but soon protested when she realized what it was about. "No, no, you don't have to" she stuttered. "Ah'm... Ah'm not cold."

"Will you stop being so damn proud" he said as he sat back down on his previous spot.

"An' you'll stay cold?"

He gave a mocking smile. "Your concern touches me, _chère_."

Rogue stripped the coat off and threw it back at him. Gambit rolled his eyes. " _Fille têtue_ " he grumbled as he lay down to sleep; his coat serving as a pillow.

Rogue slid a final glance at Gambit, and lay down on the sand, rolling up in a ball. She fell asleep once fatigue and worry got the best of her.

This time, she did not feel the weight of his coat on her body.

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**

 **Glossary** **:**

 _Pas beaucoup_ – Not much

 _N'est- ce pas – Right_?

 _Bien sûr que non –_ Of course not

 _Diable –_ Devil

 _Fille têtue_ _–_ Stubborn girl

* * *

 **A/N:** If you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review, that's the only way I know I should continue.


	5. Signs of life

**xXxXx**

 **W** olverine paced the floor like a caged animal. Hours tortuously passing by. He was furious to find himself with his hands tied while Rogue was God knows where and, on top of that, with an enemy. He had to let off his anger somehow as his head felt like it was about to explode.

Walking aimlessly on one of the many corridors at the Xavier Institute, Wolverine suddenly halted when his sharp ears picked up on a groan. Knowing where it came from, he ran towards Cerebro.

"I've caught something" the Professor struggled to say as he took his helmet off. Magneto by his side assisting him.

"What is it, Charles?" Wolverine asked afflictedly as he got to the room "Rogue use her powers?"

"No" Xavier replied. "Gambit did. I think... that I've found them."

Wolverine was not convinced. "What if they're not together?"

"We have no other choice, Logan" Xavier stated. He took a deep breath as he tried to recover. He then turned to Wolverine. "Tell the team to be ready. We'll be leaving soon."

Wolverine was about to ask where when he was interrupted.

"You must not" said a trembling voice, coming from the door Wolverine had left open.

All eyes turned towards the voice and saw a silhouette of a woman who looked older and more fragile than she actually was. Her hair was short and gray, and she wore dark shades.

Jean was next to her with a worrisome expression on her face. "I don't know how she got in" she said apologetically. The Professor assured her there was nothing to worry about. He was aware of who the woman was.

Silently, she was conducted to a more appropriate room. She sat down on a chair and did not say another word for several minutes. In the meantime, Storm and Beast had also joined the group as the young recruits were deliberately left out. Nonetheless, the news of the mysterious woman's arriving spread out like powder. Later on, everyone would be privy to the current situation.

In the meeting room, those who were present remained in utter silence. Grave faces boring into the woman.

Suddenly, she spoke again. "You must not look for them. You must keep Rogue away from here as possible."

"Oh, yeah?" Wolverine snarled. His hoarse, angry voice dramatically contrasting with hers, calm, controlled. "Give us a good reason, lady" he said as he struggled to restrain the impulse to let his claws loose.

"Logan" Xavier said in a slight reprimanding tone, raising his arm in front of the Canadian before he did something impulsively. "Let her speak."

"And who the hell are you?" Wolverine inquired.

The woman took her glasses off and turned her blind eyes at Wolverine. "My name is Destiny" she said impassively. "I've come to warn you all of future happenings."

"Then tell us what you know" Xavier requested without hesitation; he knew the woman's powers.

"I've seen the future, and it's not at all encouraging. Apocalypse – the most powerful mutant who has ever lived – is on the loose."

"We already know that" Wolverine cut her off.

"Apocalypse is strong, but he won't be for long" Destiny continued, wisely disregarding Wolverine. "In time, his strength will diminish and he will need her. He will need Rogue to stay alive. It won't be long until he realizes that all those stolen powers won't last forever. He'll need to replenish, and for that he'll need Rogue" she paused. No one dared say a word; all they could do was listen in perplexed attention. "There are two possible paths: in one scenario, Rogue returns and Apocalypse finds her, and..." she let her voice die down; her message was already clear "in the other one, she stays away until he has weakened enough to be subdued."

Wolverine snorted impatiently. "Why would we believe in what you say?"

"You have no other choice" she replied simply.

"Ah, we do. Tell her, Chuck" Wolverine said as he turned to Xavier. The Professor, however, said nothing.

"Every word I say is true" the woman resumed. "If you go ahead and rescue Rogue, you will be responsible for letting her fall into that monster's claws..."

"We can protect her" Wolverine grunted.

"Not forever, you can't" Destiny insisted. "If you bring her back to Bayville, eventually, he will find her and the world as we know it will be lost. Believe me when I say that Rogue is safer away from here."

"Safer alone?" the Canadian asked.

"She's not alone."

Wolverine was stupefied, unable to believe that was happening. He stared at Xavier and the others and nobody said a word. "So now we have to trust an Acolyte?"

"Believe it or not, she'll be safe with him" Destiny stated, and then paused for a moment. "You have to find a way to warn them so that they won't try to return. Do any of you know their whereabouts?" she asked, strangely turning to Xavier as if she were seeing him.

"Only Magnus and I."

"Then the two of you must forget... never underestimate the enemy's power. Our only advantage is that Apocalypse is still unaware of the fact that he needs Rogue."

"Good. That gives up time to take her to a safe place" Wolverine insisted.

Destiny shook her head in disagreement. "He would follow any of us and get to her."

"Not if we're fast."

"There won't be enough time" she said incisively, raising her voice for the first time. "Apocalypse has already taken the first steps and he will soon realize that Rogue is the weak point is his plans. We must warn her as soon as possible, before he comes to the realization that he needs her. Otherwise he will find her and it will be too late."

"What if he finds a way to locate her?" Magneto asked; his grave imposing voice echoed. "Since we were able, there's a chance Apocalypse will as well."

"Yes, but Apocalypse will need a powerful telepath for that. When he becomes aware that Rogue is needed, he'll already be too weak, so much so that his persuasion won't be enough. The only man you have to worry about now is Mesmero."

"Mesmero is in our hands" Magneto said in all his arrogance.

"You must never let Apocalypse get to him" Destiny said, emphatically. "So that all you'll have to do is to keep Apocalypse occupied. The longer he is ignorant of his own weakening, the longer you'll have to find ways to destroy him."

"If you're that good" Wolverine said, sarcastically "why didn't you have this so-called vision before all this happened? Don't you think you would've spared us all of this shit?"

Destiny fell silent for a moment. She hung her head almost imperceptibly. "Well, I did."

"Then why did you not interfere?" Wolverine asked, furiously, curbing the urge to come at her.

"There was nothing I could have done" she lied. She had interior motives to have acted the way she did. Xavier noticed but said nothing, it would not serve any purpose at that point. The pieces on the board were already in their rightful places.

"Well" she resumed after a short pause, stood up. "My mission here is done. Think carefully about everything I've said and make the right decision. Save... Rogue" _save my daughter._

Before she saw herself out, Destiny turned to Xavier. He nodded.

* * *

Rogue woke up to the sun burning her face painfully. She blinked repeatedly until she got used to the abrupt daylight. It took the girl a few seconds to realize where she was in reality. When she felt the sand grains that seemed to be all over her body, everything came back to her.

She grimaced as she prompted herself up on an elbow. She sighed. She had been having a dream before she woke up startled. Pathetic, Rogue thought. Pleasant dreams were rare as nightmares took up most part of her nights. She would not complain, though, at least she had had one peaceful night. If only it had not been so physically uncomfortable, it could have been one of her best nights of the past months. Even as she moved slightly Rogue felt her body ache, as much for the previous day's fatigue as for having slept on flat ground. She made circular movements with her head as she tried to release the pain in the back of her neck for the lack of a pillow.

Sighing yet again, Rogue's eyes finally fell on Gambit's coat covering her.

Looking around, there was no sign of its owner. She rolled her eyes. That did not surprise her. Rogue could not simply discard the possibility that Gambit might have found a way out of that place and left her behind. She no longer believed he had something to do with the situation they were in, but still could not bring herself to trust him completely. In fact, she refused to do so.

Rogue picked Gambit's coat up and smiled despite herself. He would not leave his coat behind. It was dry now, but Rogue could still smell Gambit's scent in it. She pushed it away quickly.

Gambit was not only a stranger but also her enemy. She had to keep telling herself that over and over again or rather she would go mad.

Rogue stood up in sudden determination. She jumped over the extinguished fire, and found some peeled coconuts piled up nearby. Successfully mimicking the way Gambit did on the previous day, she was able to open three of them and drank satisfactorily. Her thirst was quenched but she was still hungry. As Rogue tried to forget the burning sensation in her stomach, she noticed a sequence of footprints in the soft sand that led to the same way they had taken the previous day. She could follow up on the steps and go after Gambit or patiently wait for his returning. Rogue was not the kind of person who would wait around. She decided to follow the footprints, however, she had to get rid of the sand on her body first.

She contemplated bathing in the sea but could not go into the water dressed since she had no change of clothes; and if she were unclad, she worried that Gambit would pop up and catch her off guard. She could clearly picture him hiding her clothes or any other puerile prank. She could not run the risk.

Eventually, she begrudgingly resigned herself to rolling up her pants, and in a squatting position she sprinkled water on her face, arms and chest. She felt her skin – mainly her face – sore as if it was burning. Rogue was not used to being exposed to the sun for long without protection and, on top of that, her skin was extremely sensitive to sunlight.

She sat down on the sand, disheartened. She could not get over the fact that the X-Men had not found her yet. It had been nearly a whole day since they had fallen on that beach. It had been more than enough time for them to be rescued. Nothing seemed to make sense.

Taking a deep breath Rogue resolved to take an action. She would not wait around for rescue. Instead, she would find a way... _home_.

Her head was spinning around, cooking up possible ways out of that place when, from afar, she caught sight of a silhouette; or at least, she thought it was a silhouette. It would not come as a surprise if it were nothing more than her imagination. She got to her feet and squinted to make certain that she was not simply making it up. She closed her eyes and rubbed them. When she looked at the same direction again, she could still see the silhouette blurred by the heat.

Despite herself, Rogue smiled.

Gambit was running towards her, nearly tripping on his own feet. She ran to him to narrow the distance between them.

As Gambit saw her drawing near, he halted. Panting, he bent over, leaning his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

When Rogue reached him, she was almost out of breath as well. She could not help but notice that his chest and back burned in an intense red shade; his t-shirt was wrapped around his head as a turban.

"I found..." he struggled to say, not only because of his exhaustion, but also because his mouth was dry to the point where speaking demanded effort. "Dere's... a fishermen village miles away" he pointed the direction. "I know where we are" he drawled before falling on his back on the hot sand. His chest went up and down slowly as he tried to catch his breath.

Rogue listened to him carefully, but suddenly, the information she was so eagerly waiting for did not seem to matter anymore when she perceived the state he was in. She knelt next to him, her eyebrows frowned in worry – something that, at that moment, she did not care to conceal or question.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

Gambit flashed a weird, doubtful look at her. "Am I hallucinating or are you being nice to me?"

Rogue rolled her eyes and punched him slightly in the arm.

Gambit moaned. "Don' be mean."

She crossed her arms over her chest in exasperation. "That's for leaving me behind."

In spite of his fatigue and thirst and hunger, Gambit had the presence of mind to smirk. "Knew you'd miss me, Roguey."

She grimaced and snorted. "You really are delusional" she retorted harshly. "And don't call me Roguey."

Gambit's smirk grew wider. He looked up to her face, amused. He struggled but successfully lifted his head and shoulders up, propping himself up on his elbows. "You look cute when you angry."

All his remark did was infuriate her further. Nonetheless, this time, Rogue was able to keep her temper, since she was smart enough to know that changing the subject was the right move. "Just get up and tell me what you found, will ya?"

"I need a break from the sun, first" he said, offering her his hand. "Help me get up?"

Rogue stared at his hand, and hesitated for an instant before grabbing it firmly and helping him stand up. She breathed a sigh of relief to see that her touch did not hurt him.

Therefore, they walked over to the nearest tree and sat down by its shade.

" _Alors_ , I found this hamlet of fishermen. But I didn't try touching bases with anyone, just hid and watched them from a distance. Given the way they looked and talked, I'm sure we're somewhere on the India coast."

"India?" she echoed, dumbfounded, as the information sank in. "Where were we before?"

"Tibet. Far from home anyway."

She concurred with an absent-minded nod of her head. "From what you saw, do you think they'll help us?"

" _Je crois que oui._ We'll try, anyway. But first I need some rest" he added in a humorous fashion as he leaned his head back on the tree and closed his eyes.

Rogue eyed him for a few seconds, bit hard on her lower lip. "You're burning" she said, without asking for his permission, she removed the t-shirt from his head, ran to the sea and drenched it. She then pressed it against his forehead. When Gambit's hand brushed hers in order to support the cloth, Rogue moved her hand away quickly.

" _Merci_ , Rogue."

"Ah think... I should thank you" she said, in an awkward manner, after a brief pause. "Ah thought you had left without me" she told him as she sat down next to him. She should not feel guilty for not having trusted him, she knew that, told herself that repeatedly, but could not help herself. "But you came back for me."

"No doubt about it. We're getting out of dis one together, ok?" he assured.

She nodded, and awkwardly got to her feet and went to pick up some coconut water for him before the situation became too embarrassing.

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**

 **Glossary** **:**

 _Alors_ – So

 _Jecrois que oui_ – I believe so

 _Merci_ – Thank you

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading, I really hope you liked it. I appreciate the reviews for the previous chapter, they were the reason I posted this.


	6. Castles on quicksand

**xXxXx**

 **A** ccording to the sun's position it was around one p.m., Gambit stated, when the two young mutants were ready to leave the beach where they had stayed for a whole day and a whole night. Although uncertainty was overwhelming, they honestly believed to be close to going back to civilization.

For the previous twenty minutes since Gambit said he had found a village, words between the two were sparse. There was something strange in the air that neither of them understood.

The sky got darker by the minute. Clouds were gathering and beginning to blacken while the breeze was gradually turning into a cold wind and the sun was losing its strength. At that moment, they did not mind it; actually, it was a relief, for they still had a long way to go.

As they did not have means to carry the coconuts picked up on the beach, they pushed themselves to drink some of them. It served the purpose of quenching their thirst for the moment, however, after some time the taste became disagreeably sweet.

They picked up their clothes, ascertaining that no piece had been left behind. Gambit once again wrapped his dark t-shirt around his head (whereas his coat protected his shoulders) and advised Rogue to do the same. She did not think it was a bad idea, but all she had left was a wool blouse, which became too heavy, warm and uncomfortable after some time, so she wrapped it around her waist. Who knows it could be of use later on. In addition to that, they saw no alternative other than to put on their warm boots again, which was actually preferable to walking barefoot on the blistering sand.

Rogue came across the one glove that remained, discarded somewhere. She picked it up, stared at it with distant eyes for a few seconds before casting it in the sea. When her powers returned she would just find herself a new pair. One out of two pieces would do her nothing. Soon she would be far away from there.

Even though the sun was then mild and the wind offered some relief, the temperature remained high. They sweated and burned. They were hungry, would soon be thirsty again. A quarter of an hour was enough for their tiredness to show. That was the second time Gambit traveled over that course, surprisingly he did not seem to be much more tired than Rogue.

Somewhere far away, thunders rolled more and more often, lighting up the sky for a few seconds at a time. It did not take long until it looked like night.

All in all, there was only silence.

Rogue wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked ahead. The beach seemed endless, which made her feel more obstinate. She clinched her fists strongly, her jaw hardened as she tried to hasten her steps. Something was making her aggrieved.

As she had moved some steps ahead, Gambit could not see her disturbed face, but her body language gave her away.

"Rogue?" he called her but she did not answer. "Rogue?" he called her again, raising his tone of voice.

She looked at him over her shoulders for just a second, and halted. "What is it, Gambit?" she asked displeased as she turned around, nonetheless, she gave him the chance to catch up to her.

"We gotta stop."

"What?" she cried, incredulous. Her hands on her waist, her face furious. "Why? You just said we were halfway through."

Gambit weakly pointed to the sky. "See dose dark clouds up dere? Dere's a storm coming. There's no way of knowing when it's gonna start; dey're sudden."

Rogue snorted and turned her back to Gambit. She took two or three steps, raised her hands to her head and turned her tired face to him again.

"We can try to speed up or slow down and see if we can find some shelter" he said with a calm voice. "It be your decision as much as mine."

Rogue pondered, or at least she tried. Thinking got harder and harder. "We... we better go on until we find a safe place to hide."

Gambit agreed with a smile. "Good plan, _chère._ "

They both knew it was not, but at that point there were not many options.

They went on walking without exchanging a word. However, the storm soon broke, blurring their sights. The sky darkened as if the night had fallen in a matter of seconds. Raindrops were so thick that it was hard for them to even breathe.

Without a moment of hesitation, Gambit grabbed Rogue's hand and they started running aimlessly. A few feet away, there was a rock formation. As they drew nearer, Rogue thought she saw something that looked like a grotto.

"This way" she shouted as she pushed him towards the fissure.

Inside, Gambit picked up a rock from the ground and charged it in order to light up the place. As it looked safe, he discarded it. The rock fell down with a thump. Still, they would not risk going in any farther, just enough to take cover from the rain.

The grotto was unpleasant, humid and dark. It gave them the creeps. They had no option other than waiting, though. At least now they had water.

Gambit stripped off his coat and wrung it out with a grimace. He kicked a rock as he cursed.

Rogue took her wool blouse off her waist and laid it down on a large rock that went up to her knees and sat down on it. She took her soaking boots off as well and leaned her feet on them; there were rocks spread all over the floor. If she hurt her feet she would certainly be damned. She unsuccessfully tried to wring out her pants while she still wore them. In an angry impulse, she took them off. She was then dressed just like before: tank top and panties.

Gambit did the same. He took off his boots, turned them upside down and shook them. His coat and pants were placed on another rock.

Once Gambit finished stripping off, he flashed a distracted glance at Rogue. His eyes stopped suddenly, almost surprised. Rogue was clumsily running her fingers through her tangled hair, unaware that he (in)discreetly ogled at her.

Gambit could not help but notice how the wet tank top shaped the girl's body. He gulped but did not look away. That was the first time he had the chance to see her, really see her. He honestly asked himself how he had never noticed how pretty she was. He smiled despite himself. Although she was soaked and had no makeup on, she still looked beautiful. All the makeup she was used to using hid her beauty instead of highlighting it, he thought. In all likelihood, it was intentional.

Gambit could have spent all day ogling her had she not noticed it.

Rogue turned her eyes to him for a moment, then looked away, and then quickly back at him. She stopped short, frozen, as she noticed his gaze. She stiffened, covered her breasts with her crossed arms and turned her flushed face to the other side.

Gambit took a couple of steps towards her, delighted in seeing her adorably awkward. "Y'know, de way you dressed right now, waiting don't seem so bad after all" his voice doused in honey.

Rogue looked up at him, determinably. "That might work on other girls. Not on me, Cajun."

"De harder de better" he retorted, ironically.

Rogue took a deep breath, stole a glance at him, uneasy. "You never get tired of the sound of your own voice, do ya?"

"Dat a rhetorical question?"

Rogue looked away, trying to ignore him. However, she would soon find out that ignoring did not work on him.

Gambit took a step towards her. "What if we look on de bright side, just for a change, _chérie_? Look around. We be alone here... on a deserted beach" as he spoke his voice dropped a notch. "It's kinda romantic."

She chuckled sarcastically and looked at him, recovered from her embarrassment. "You don't wanna get too close to me. Ah'm... poisonous."

"You don't t'ink someone called Gambit would shy away from a challenge, huh?"

She forced a sarcastic smile; it came out nervous. "Ah'm serious, Cajun. Stay away from me" she said gravely.

Rogue's irritation was starting to turn into nervousness. Knowing that Gambit could get close to her without getting hurt scared her… not that she thought he would try anything or that she could not stand up for herself. The last two times were total fiascos, but she had been caught by surprise. She knew she could rely on her physical abilities. Fighting against sentiments and hormones, on the other hand, she was aware it would not be so easy.

Noticing the seriousness in her voice, Gambit quit fooling around. "Alright, never mind" but after a few seconds, he added: "O'course, it's your loss."

"Huh, Ah very much doubt that" she snapped back, assuming that would be best. Better than embarrassing silence. Arguing was easy, it would keep her mind busy. "You're not my type, anyway" she said with disdain.

Gambit crossed his arms all but offended. "Skinny red-glasses-wearing-boy-scout is."

"You really wanna go into that again?"

Gambit made an innocent face. "Why don't you tell me what your type really is den?"

She rolled her eyes. "Why would Ah do that? Ah don't need your approval, swamp rat."

His patience was also hanging by a thread. "I could be anywhere right now, wit' any girl I wanted. But, no, I'm here, stuck with a soaked, ungrateful river rat."

Rogue turned her surprised face to him. "What did you just call me?"

Gambit shrugged. "Only you get to give pet names?" he said sarcastically.

She bit a retort back. She did not have the right and she knew it. "For a soaked river rat you sure took your sweet time ogling at me."

Gambit chuckled in disdain. "I wasn't" he said dryly. "You ain't all dat."

Rogue tilted her head. She knew that well. What she did not know was that he was lying.

Silently, they waited. They did not say a word during the time spent in the grotto. It was turning into a habit.

All they could hear was the sound of the rain falling down heavily on the rocks.

They waited and waited.

At last, the storm began to let up until it ceased. The sun shone strongly again. Luckily, the rain had eased the heat and quenched their thirst.

They put on their wet pants again and moved along. Although they were getting close, it felt as if the way expanded. More and more their feet dragged, their sweating grew, just like their hunger and thirst.

Even though they walked side by side, they were far apart. They were physically close, but their emotional distance grew. One did not get out of the other's mind and they did not know it. All the other problems shrunk when they could not ease their hearts. They despised the way they behaved as if everything they did was wrong. None of them understood what they felt and so they dealt with the confusion the same way: lying, ignoring, believing that situation was too surreal to make any sense.

Once again Rogue walked ahead of him, but this time despite herself. Gambit called her but Rogue pretended not to hear him. He did not appreciate being ignored like that. He reached her and held her by the arm, impelling her to turn around. She looked up at his face, frustrated, furious and surprised. She gazed at his hand around her arm and then back to his face. But Gambit did not back off and kept a firm grasp.

"Slow down" he said, firmly. "We better keep up a certain pace."

Rogue wriggled her arm and he let go of her. "We've already wasted more than an hour in that goddamn cave" she said, raising her voice. "We have to make up for it" she turned away and sped up.

Gambit did not move. "You'll tire out if you keep going dat fast."

Rogue stopped short and turned to face him, riled. She took a couple of steps ahead. "Ah'm aware of mah limits, Cajun" she was about to turn around but did not. "Why you care, anyway? If all goes well, we'll be far from here in a few hours. You and me, we can go our separate ways and never have to see each other's faces ever again... we'll pretend we don't know each other if we ever cross paths again. So, tell me, why making this more complicated than it already is? All Ah want is to go back ho—to the Institute."

She stared at Gambit's face for a moment. It never gave anything away and that infuriated her. She turned her back to him and continued walking.

They were silent yet again. It was a long way but neither complained. Approximately one hour and a half later, they spotted a village and asked for help.

A man in his forties, with a simple and friendly face, who seemed to be one of the few people there who could speak their language, took them in and offered them food. They devoured whatever there was on their plates. Notions of etiquette suddenly forgotten.

Some children peeped behind a wall of the simple house, watching them curiously. Noticing their presence, Rogue smiled at them, but they ran off.

The man patiently watched them in silence as they ate.

"Americans?" their host asked as soon as they had finished their quick meal. They nodded with their mouths still full. "How you end up here in the middle of nowhere?"

Rogue and Gambit exchanged nervous looks.

"Our ship sank" Gambit said. "We swam to the closest shore. We don't know if dere are any other survivors... we've lost everythin'... our luggage, our IDs. Dese clothes are all we got left. We spent two days isolated on de beach before we found you" he added, at least one truth amongst so many lies.

The man watched them with his dark eyes. He then nodded, seeming to buy the story. "You are lucky to find us" he said with a smile.

"Ah don't want to impose but" Rogue said, suddenly reluctant "would you have a phone we could use?" she also meant to take the man's attention away from their fake story.

"I'm very sorry" he answered in his thick accent. "After a heavy storm like today's, we lose communication. It happens often."

"Ah see" she said, disappointed.

"So," Gambit started saying "we need to get to the closest town so we can get in touch with the U.S. Embassy."

"I will help you" the man said.

"How can we thank you?" Gambit asked, looking straight into the man's eyes.

"There is no need" he said, however his intonation had changed, as if his answer were automatic. "I'm happy to help" he then blinked several times as if he had lost his train of thought.

"Could you show us the way?" Gambit asked. The man nodded.

They left immediately. It would be another long walk, but they hoped to arrive at the city before nightfall, which was encouraging. Now they had water and their hunger was satisfied.

They were told that every week a group went to the nearest town to sell the seafood they had fished and were invited to stay the night since a new group would leave the next day. Gambit, however, refused the offer, claiming they were in a hurry. The man then asked a boy, his oldest son, to accompany them for part of the way. The boy, like any other boy his age, was eager to get to know more about the world, about life outside their remote village, bombarded them with questions. Gambit answered them without hesitation, even the ones concerning their arriving there.

Rogue was taken aback by how easily Gambit could tell lies. She kept any remarks to herself, for they could be of use when the opportunity presented itself.

At some point, the boy stopped and told them, with a sorrowful face, that he had to go back. He showed them the way. He said good-bye and Gambit thanked him sincerely, wishing him luck.

They were close to their destination when Gambit took a sip from the canteen they had been given, and then passed it on to Rogue. She finally broke the silence. There was something she could not get out of her head since they had left.

"How'd you do that?" she asked as they walked side by side. She avoided making eye contact.

Gambit shot a glance at her out of the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow, making her question sound stupid. "Do what?"

"Those people were too nice to us."

"They were good people" he answered after a short pause. He sped up.

Rogue tried to catch up to his pace. As she failed, she grabbed him by the arm. Not out of spite, but on impulse. "Ah noticed the way you looked at those people. It was as if you were... hypnotizing them or something."

Gambit looked away. "You got it all wrong" he said and resumed walking.

"No" she said, resolute, putting herself in front of him. "It was the exact same trick you used on me the first time we crossed paths. Ah'm sure of it."

She remembered the feeling perfectly well.

 _It was something she had never felt before. All the adrenaline that ran through her body because of the fight suddenly died, as soon as she found herself caught up in his eyes. As if facing Medusa, she felt her body petrify. All she could see was his eyes; everything else was a blur._

 _He handed her a playing card and she stared at it, with a feeble smile, as if it was the brightest and prettiest thing she had ever seen. Then, after a nod of his head, he walked away and she finally got out of her trance. Upon realizing the risk she was running, she threw the object away, just in time to stop it from exploding in her hand._

"How did you do that?" she asked again for she would not forget the question.

Gambit hesitated. He looked away as if he was afraid they would be heard. He shrugged his shoulders slightly, searching for an answer. " _J'sais pas_."

Rogue shut up. She did not think he was lying that time, still, she insisted. "Is it your eyes or your voice or—?"

"I don't know how I do it" he cut her off, impatiently. "I just do, ok? And you should be thanking me for getting us food" he amended to change the subject. He walked past her and went on walking.

"Ah'll thank you after we find a phone and get outta here."

* * *

They lost track of time. They had no idea of how long they had been walking when they finally spotted a city. It was getting darker by then.

"We need to find a phone" Rogue said, determined.

"I'm not so sure" Gambit said, and fell silent. "You don't find odd dat your X-Men hadn't come to your rescue yet?"

"No" she said without thinking. "Maybe they don't know where we are. That's why we need a phone" she added with the most obvious tone she could pull off.

"Your Professor's a telepath, _n'est-ce pas_? Don't you t'ink he would've found us by now? Do the math. Dey've had enough time to look for you. They must have a good reason for not coming to pick you up yet. Unless they can't."

Rogue stopped short. After a few steps, Gambit turned around when he realized she had frozen. When he saw the paleness of her face, he understood the mistake he had just made.

" _Merde_ " he said under his breath as he approached her. "I don't mean dey ain't okay, 'cause dey are."

"You don't know that" she snapped back in an emotive voice, holding her breath as she struggled to control herself.

"Rogue..." he started to say, desperately trying to fix it. "Before we disappeared, dey were alright. Apocalypse went at us and, and first I t'ought nothing happened, 'cause he just vanished in the air and only den we were gone" Rogue stared at him with skeptical and teary eyes. Suddenly, lying was not so easy. "Dey are fine. _Je te le jure_ " he added as he came closer to her. "'sides, we don't even know what Apocalypse is up to."

Her tough girl posture returned. She swallowed her crying. "Ah'll relax after Ah speak to them."

He closed his eyes, trying not to lose his patience. Stubborn girl if ever there was one! "Our priority is finding a safe place, mabbe to stay the night. Den, we'll see if we can find a way to get in touch wit' them." he said with a bossy tone she was learning to hate more and more.

Rogue quit arguing, for they were near downtown and she did not want to draw any more attention to them than they already did.

As they went farther, the streets got more crowded and tumultuous. As it was getting darker, it looked as though the people there were returning to their homes.

Unintentionally, Rogue came closer to Gambit. Crowds always made her tense. At some point, however, Rogue got distracted for a second and fell behind. When she realized Gambit was moving farther away and she was about lose sight of him, she almost panicked.

There were street vendors everywhere they looked, offering them all sorts of products. More than one almost touched her arm. Few times before had Rogue feared something awful was imminent. She felt so exposed, as if she was suffocating. So alone and lost.

Her arms were bare and her irrational side feared hurting someone. Numerous possibilities (some of them absurd) ran through her head. What if her powers had returned or what if they did not work only on Gambit?

Rogue desperately looked for him. Gambit was no farther than six feet away, but it was difficult for her to reach him. All those people cutting off her vision of him and all effort not to touch anyone. It felt terribly similar to a nightmare.

Gambit finally noticed Rogue's absence; she saw him look around for her. Few seconds later, he was next to her. Rogue grabbed his arm strongly.

"Hey, hey. Easy" he said. "It's alright" he wrapped the arm that she had been holding around her waist. He then guided her away from the disarray. They stopped in an alleyway where few people passed by.

Rogue was scared to death. At first glance, her being afraid seemed unreasonable but he soon realized. "You can let go of my tee now" he said, with a comforting smile.

Rogue looked up at him and backed off quickly, flushed and embarrassed. She crossed her arms and struggled not to glance at him again. "Ah'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose. You keep saying we're on this together, but you're always leaving me behind."

He had to laugh at her authoritative tone. "I'm not doing dat ever again. I'm all yours, _chère_."

The crimson on her cheeks deepened, which brought a smile to Gambit's face. Her reaction was so feminine and sweet that he figured she must be hating herself at that moment. He was dead right. Rogue found herself in one of those situations where she would give anything for a hole to open up on the ground and swallow her.

Gambit perceived the discomfort he had contributed to increase. Rogue must have been feeling humiliated and pathetic for needing his help again. The truth was that Gambit thought her reaction made her irresistible.

"Hey" he said as he ended the distance she had put between them. Rogue heard him and noticed his coming closer but chose not to acknowledge him. Gambit touched her chin with his fingers and gently lift it until he could see her eyes. "I ain't leaving you."

Rogue swallowed in a dry throat, feeling her cheeks burn. She hated the fact that she believed what he was saying was true. And when he smiled a thousand butterflies flapped their wings in her stomach. It seemed as if he were two completely different men. He would go from a jerk to a gentleman in the blink of an eye.

"Let's move along?" he suggested.

She nodded.

* * *

"Any news?" Storm asked as she approached Wolverine who was standing at Cerebro's door.

"No" he replied, simply. His posture conveyed atypical calmness, and even his face looked serene; but it was all a well-made façade. On the inside, he was suffocating. He gazed at Xavier. "I can't get over the fact that we're following that woman's advice."

"Xavier knows what he's doing, Logan."

"He can screw up sometimes too, y'know?" he paused. "What about Hank?"

"Making progress" Ororo said. "He has unearthed some comprehensive information on Apocalypse's origins."

Logan turned his face to her. "Anything on how to break him?"

She silently shook her head. So, they waited. At some point, they saw Xavier take off his helmet. He looked worn out and so did Magneto.

"I could not find her" the Professor said feebly. "I searched near where I had caught a signal from Gambit, but I could not detect Rogue's powers. From this distance, it would be the only way to inform her."

"Contact the Acolyte, then" Wolverine said.

"I've already tried" Xavier said. "He has used his powers again, but I simply could not enter his head. If I forced, it could be painful to both of us. Also, the long distance makes any kind of contact the more difficult."

"How come, Professor?" Storm asked as her eyebrows wrinkled.

"Shields" Magneto said. "The boy has resistant shields against telepaths."

Xavier concurred. "We must find another way of telling them."

The next minutes were of plain silence. Hours went by as they continued to walk through a maze.

"I can no longer stay here sitting on my hands" Magneto said, breaking the silence. "I'm sorry, Charles, but I will look for other means of destroying Apocalypse."

Xavier assented. "Be careful, Magnus."

Not long after Magneto had left, Wolverine stormed off. Once he found himself alone on the corridor, he punched the wall and then leaned against it, exhausted. "I could've saved 'er" he said as he felt Storm drawing near.

She laid a hand on his shoulder. "You did your best, Logan"

"My best wasn't enough."

In that moment Jean ran past them followed by Kitty, Scott and Kurt.

"We have an idea, Professor" she said, breathing in sharply.

"Calm down, Jean, and tell us what's on your mind" Xavier said. A smile touched his lips.

Jean shot a confident glance at the other three and they nodded. She turned her determined face to the Professor.

"You said you couldn't get into Gambit's head because he repelled you, right?" Xavier nodded silently. "My idea is... if, if Gambit is in a state of, relaxation, so to speak, wouldn't it be easier to get access to his mind?"

Xavier pondered. "It's possible; however, from this distance, it can be too risky and without Magneto's help..."

"I'll help, Professor" she hurried to say.

"It's dangerous, Jean. You're not ready to use Cerebro yet."

"I know it's risky, but it may work" she paused. Scott came closer to her and held her hand. "I'm willing to help, no matter the risks. I know what Rogue did for me, how she put herself into danger when I lost control. It's high time I pay her back" she said fiercely. Scott squeezed her hand.

There was a moment of silence. They all stared apprehensively at Xavier.

"Girl's got a plan, Chuck" Logan said suddenly.

"We shall try" Xavier replied, at last.

"Good job, red."

Jean smiled, contented. "Thank me after the plan succeeds, Logan."

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**

 **Glossary** **:**

 _J'sais pas_ – I dunno

 _N'est-ce pas_? – right?

 _Merde_ – Shit

 _Je te le jure_ – I swear


	7. Gasping for air

**xXxXx**

 **T** he second night fell. Gambit insisted that they needed to find a safe place to stay before looking for a way of contacting the X-Men. They entered the first inn they found. Apparently the only one in the small town.

"Ah almost believed you when you said we were gonna look for an Embassy" Rogue said as they drew nearer the inn.

" _C'est sûr_!" Gambit exclaimed with over-the-top irony. "Dey'd be happy to help two young American citizens stranded on a hostile land... in case they weren't mutants."

Rogue shut up. She was too exhausted to keep on arguing, especially after running straight into his arms mere minutes earlier. In the moment of affliction, Rogue did not think nor hesitate. Now she tormented herself questioning whether she had gone to him for protection just because there was no other option or she had really believed that Gambit could have kept her from harm somehow. And he did protect her, which made her feel modified and petrified.

They got to the inn's door. Rogue halted. "You really too proud to ask for help?"

Gambit turned to her; his face as tired as hers. "I've always done better on my own, _chère_. And you know you ain't in no position to talk about pride" their eyes were locked for a moment.

Rogue crossed her arms and peeked into the inn, thinking it would be redundant to say they had no money with them as she saw Gambit step in and head to the reception desk. She watched him talk to the receptionist and also when he handed him a key.

Gambit motioned to her to come in. Rogue stepped closer with a questioning and incredulous look on her face. They went up a short wooden flight of stairs that made noises at every step, and soon afterwards, they got to a narrow hall.

"15... 14…" Gambit counted down at every door they passed by "13. I t'ink dis is the one. Hope you're not superstitious, _chérie_."

"Let me guess..." she said, leaning into the wall next to the door with her arms crossed while Gambit struggled to open the door, which seemed to be stuck. "You used that charm trick again. What do you think they'll do once they find out we got no money?"

" _Mince_!" he exclaimed, shaking the door that would not open. Breaking into it would have been faster than trying to use the key.

"You want me to get help, sugah?" she asked in pure sarcasm.

Gambit turned to her with a smirk. Then he applied pressure and at the same time pushed the door up, and finally got it to open. With a broad grin of satisfaction, he got out of the way so Rogue could get in as he extended his hand in a gesture that meant ladies first.

"Unbelievable" he said, once they had stepped into the room. Rogue could not decide whether his indignation was true or plain mocking. "I've broken into safes, high-security mansions without breaking a sweat an' now I was dis close to being defeated by a fifty-year-old door."

" _C'est la vie_ " she said, with a teasing smile, then looked around.

Two single beds, one single door that should lead to the bathroom, a window and, on the ground, a washed-out carpet. At least, the room seemed to be clean.

Rogue moved closer to the window and opened it. It was old and made of wood so Rogue pulled it up hard thinking it would be stuck; however, it opened easily. The room smelled like it had been closed for some days. All in all, it would serve to spend the night, take a shower and wait for rescue.

"You still haven't answered mah question" she remembered as she turned to face him. Gambit showed her the money.

"How?" she questioned with a look of surprise.

"What do you think?" he asked rhetorically, with a disagreeable face. "You didn't look surprised when I said I've broken into all kinds o' places. Didn't t'ink you would care. Besides, we need dis money more dan the person I... got this from" he added, defensively despite himself.

Rogue took a few steps towards him; a neutral look on her face. "It's not that, Gambit. Ah know you've stolen it, that's obvious. Ah just don't know how you did it, Ah mean, you left mah side for less than a minute" she all but gave a laugh. "How'd you do it?"

Gambit smirked as he took a couple of steps towards her. "Dat's a secret" he said as he let his voice drop a notch. "An' I don't go about revealing my techniques to anybody, not even to a pretty girl like you."

"Oh, is that so?" she said, playing along. At that point, it was perfectly clear to her that, to Gambit, flirting was as natural as speaking.

" _Oui_. Unless... you ask me nicely. Den we can negotiate a price" he added with a voice as sly as his smile.

"Or maybe a touch is all it takes for me to find out all your secrets" she said, starting to get into the game. Her surprise was overwhelming when Gambit frowned and backed away suddenly. She should have been bothered by her own remark, after all, she was the one who would go back to being untouchable sooner rather than later.

Silence reminded Rogue that she was not there on vacation. "Can we go find a phone now, boss?" she asked, trying to keep a light tone.

Gambit smiled at the contrived accent she used. Nonetheless, it lasted only a second, for he soon became contemplative.

"What's wrong?"

"I dunno" he answered staring away. "Somet'ing tells me we better wait. Somet'ing doesn't seem right."

Rogue wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion. If that was a plan to keep her there, she would sure find out about it sooner or later. But the real question was why he would do that. She did not have the faintest idea but wanted know where it was going.

"What do you suppose we do, then?"

With his back to her, Gambit took some time to reply. "We better stay de night here" he said as he finally turned to her. "We're exhausted, starving, dying for a shower... we stay here tonight and den tomorrow, first t'ing in de morning, we go find a phone and tell them where we are."

"What if they're looking for us and need our help to find us?"

"What if they already found us?"

Rogue looked away for a moment, disbelieving. "This is insane; it makes no sense."

"Anyt'ing make sense in dis, Rogue?"

She did not say anything but ended up nodding. "But, Gambit..."

"I know it's too much to ask," he said as he moved closer to her, halting a few inches away from her; he struggled not to grab her by the arms. Rogue all but stepped back. " _mais_... trust me. Only dis once, Rogue. Trust me" he insisted with intensity.

Rogue was aware of the possibility that he was lying, but at the same time it was hard for her to believe that it was all acting. The mere thought of being used again hurt. However, if it was all a scheme, what was he up to? In one thing he was completely right: nothing made sense.

Rogue stayed silent for a few instants as his eyes stared at her. He knew what was at stake but was willing to follow his gut instinct, as he always did. All that mattered to him at that moment was to get her to trust him.

She was starting to feel uncomfortable. She could barely think straight. Suddenly she found herself believing in Gambit. There was something in his eyes, as if he was begging with them that she trusted him, only for that once, as if it was a matter of life or death to him.

Rogue saw herself buying into his suggestion, though she still had her doubts. "Okay. I trust you. We crash here for the night."

" _Trés bien_ " he said with a sudden smile that took her by surprise. "I'll see if I can fix us somet'ing to eat."

* * *

Alone in the room, Rogue went looking for an earned shower. She did not have any clean clothes but made sure to find herself some towels. She would wash her clothes in the shower and then she would think about what to do.

She stepped into the simple bathroom and, before she could lock the door, she noticed there was no key. _Great_!, she exclaimed, making a face. Looking around her, she realized there was not even a shower curtain. If Gambit arrived unannounced, she would be helpless.

The most disappointing part of it all was that there was no mirror. She was dying to see her reflection. Judging by the burning sensation on her face it must be looking horrible. As inconvenient as Gambit was, Rogue doubted he would have told her the truth regarding her appearance, even if she asked him about it (something she did not intend to do).

After lingering in the shower, trying not to think of anything at all, Rogue wrapped a towel around herself and cautiously cracked the door open.

"Gambit?" she looked around the small room and saw that Gambit had not returned yet.

She sat down on one of the beds, which she unconsciously chose for herself, and dried her hair with the towel while she waited. She made a face again as she ran her fingers through her hair; it was still sticky.

Within a few minutes, Gambit returned. His face was looking better, she noticed. Though he was still tired, he had a fresh look to him.

"I took some time t' find something dat didn't look too exotic" he said, laying the bags down on the bed. "Here's some food. Ah! I got you dis. De best I could get in such short notice."

Rogue grabbed the bag thrown at her and found clothes.

* * *

While Gambit showered, Rogue got dressed. She found a simple, white tank top. Aside from the slight discomfort that the piece caused her for leaving part of her chest and arms exposed, it fit her well. Regarding the other piece – which at first glance seemed to be just a red piece of cloth –, she took some time to understand how it worked until she could finally dress it as a long skirt, which left her right thigh exposed. She spent a few minutes trying to change it, and eventually gave up.

Rogue was famished, but as she had wasted time on the clothes, decided to wait for Gambit to finish his shower before they ate. Not long after that, he emerged with his hair wet, dressed in a white tee and white pants, made of a light material. And, much to Rogue's surprise, he had shaved. There was even a tiny bruise on this chin.

"Waited for me. How nice o' you, _chère_ " he teased.

Rogue narrowed her eyes at him. "How come you got yourself pants and Ah got this?"

Gambit shrugged the question off as he sat down on the bed beside her.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Rogue spoke again. "Can Ah ask you something?" with his mouth full, he nodded. "Why didn't you use that... that trick with your eyes on me to talk me into not going after a phone?"

"Who says I didn't?" he retorted, suggestive, glancing at her with the corner of his eyes.

"Did you?" she knew he hadn't but wanted to know what kind of answer she would get.

" _Non_. I'd used it on you before. I'm not sure it would've worked so good a second time, and, 'sides, I wanted you to see for yourself dat dat was de best to be done wit'out letting yourself be driven by... emotions."

Rogue watched him, intrigued. "That's how you always act? Always using your head?"

"Dat's how it mus' be" he answered back dryly, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"That's not mah question."

He stopped and looked at her, gravely. "That's how a man like me must act. _Oui_ , always using his head."

"A man like you?" she sounded more sweetly than she had intended.

Gambit hesitated for a second, breathing in. When he spoke there seemed to be some irritation in his voice. "A _t'ief_ like me. Must be pragmatic and manipulative."

"That's why you saved me… because you were being pragmatic?" she questioned softly as she watched him, eager to know the answer, because that question insisted on being stuck in her mind.

Gambit fixed her with a stare as if confronting her. "What are you getting at?"

Rogue did not intimidate; held her eyes on his. "Why you doing this? Helping me?"

"Dat question again?"

"Perhaps 'cause you owe me an answer."

"It dat so important to you?"

Rogue looked away from him. She honestly wished to know the answer, but instead of saying yes, she silently said no; it did not matter. "Ah just... Ah, Ah kind of remembered some, some parts. I remember you running at mah direction, Ah remember seeing Wolverine smile at me and, and then you held me in your arms and Ah woke up on that beach."

"When'd you remember all dis?" he murmured; any sign of irritation in his voice vanished.

"On our way here. Actually, most of it had come back to me earlier, it's just... everything seemed so confusing. Ah couldn't tell apart what was real from a reverie. When Ah finally got mah head together, everything started to make sense. Ah think Ah got ahead of mahself when Ah chose to accuse you instead of trying to understand what was happening because it was easier than to admit that something was wrong with me" she paused as she watched him, puzzled. "You say nothing?"

"What you want me to say?" he asked with indifference.

"Ah don't know" she all but murmured without even trying to hide her confusion. "Ah thought you'd be happy to see me admit Ah was wrong."

"If dat's how you t'ink I'd feel, den you really know not'ing abou' me" he answered in a neutral tone, without looking at her face again.

Ashamed, Rogue could not muster the courage to say anything else. Suddenly, she felt stupid for what she said. It did not matter, she reminded herself. Though they had fallen on that beach on the previous day, everything that had happened there felt distant. Perhaps, despite herself, she tried to lighten up the conversation by bringing up an issue that had already died.

Exhausted, they lay down to sleep as soon as they finished their meal. The beds were not very comfortable, but given their tiredness, it would be more than enough for one night.

Rogue lay down with her back turned to Gambit. She could not bring herself to look into his eyes. Not for the time being.

Her only consolation was that she would be going home the next day. That was what she hoped for. Still, she had no idea how she would behave around Gambit the next morning. In fact, she never knew how. The sooner they went their separate ways, the better.

* * *

Gambit opened his eyes at once as if waking up from a bad dream.

For a long moment he did not move. He had no idea how he had ended up there. Looking around, everything was white. There was nothing at all. He found himself in an empty space, and, though he knew to be lying on his back, it felt like he was floating in the air.

There was nothing but emptiness. He felt neither heat nor cold, not even a breeze. He smelled nothing, saw nothing but brume obfuscating his vision.

Confused, Gambit managed to get to his feet, but without understanding how. He took a few steps, but did not feel the ground. It was as if gravity was nonexistent.

He walked, walked and walked inside a wall-less maze.

Suddenly he spotted a figure in the distance. It seemed to be a silhouette of a man.

"Hey!" he yelled, running towards the figure. Without moving its legs, it backed away and disappeared. "Anybody dere?"

"I'm right here" a voice came from behind his back but at the same time it seemed to be distant, echoing in the nothingness. "Listen–" there was a glitch "carefully."

"Who are you?" Gambit asked as he turned around, for he could not make out a face.

"Ru–" glitch "run."

"I don't understand."

"Hide. Hide. Stay-" glitch "stay away" glitch. "It's dangerous."

"What is dangerous?" Gambit yelled; however, the silhouette was drawing back, fighting to remain there.

Suddenly, it vanished again.

Gambit stood still, panting. He looked around him but there was nothing.

Then the figure popped up in front of him, less than an inch away. Gambit could finally see a face. "Do not let him find you" the voice said before disappearing not to come back again.

Everything turned whiter, so much so it was impossible to keep his eyes open. Gambit tried to cover his eyes with his arms when a piercing sound filled his ears. He covered them with his hands but it was too overwhelming. He fell to his knees, screaming.

* * *

Xavier moaned as he arduously took off the Cerebro's helmet with trembling hands. By his side, Jean helped him, although she seemed to be as exhausted as the Professor himself.

The others, who had been watching from afar, rushed to them. Scott was the first to reach them and assist Jean.

"How did it go?" Wolverine asked with affliction.

"More difficult than I had anticipated" Xavier struggled to say after a few seconds of suspense as he came around. "I hope Gambit understood. All we can do now is wait and hope for the best" and even with all uncertainty hovering above their heads, a sincere smile flashed Xavier's lips. "The little I saw proves they are together."

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**

 **Glossary:**

 _C'est sûr_! – Of course!

 _Mince! –_ Damn it!

 _Oui_ – Oui

 _Mais_ – But

 _Très bien –_ Great

* * *

 **A/N:** I want to say thank you for the reviews. It's because of them this chapter came out so fast.


	8. Start to feel the emptiness

**xXxXx**

 **R** ogue woke up startled when she heard a scream. At first she thought it was just her imagination, that she was having a bad dream – which was not unprecedented; nonetheless, she found herself full awake when she heard a moan of pain. She got to her feet as fast as she could and, stumbling, rushed to turn on the lights. Alarmed, she took some time to locate the switch.

She covered her mouth with her hands to suppress a yell when she caught sight of Gambit contorting in bed with his hands covering his ears. His jaw was stiff in order not to scream again while his eyes were hardly closed. Judging by his warped face, he seemed to be in agony.

Rogue rushed to his bed, not a second of hesitation. She pinned his arms down trying to force him to stop compressing his ears so he could hear her. Not once did it cross her mind that she could hurt him with her touch.

"Gambit? Gambit?" she called in vain. She then sat astride his legs in order to try to calm his body down. "Gambit, talk to me. Please. Gambit!" she screamed, begged, more than afflicted, scared to death. She felt tears burn behind her eyes as she started to panic. "Gambit, talk to me" not knowing what else to do, Rogue lowered her face close to his. "Remy... please" she whispered as she closed her eyes.

When she heard another moan – that no longer seemed to be of pain, but more like the sound you make as you wake up in the morning after a long night sleep –, Rogue opened her eyes and saw that Gambit had finally gotten out of whatever that was.

His ruby eyes traveled around without seeing until they finally stopped at Rogue's face, livid with shock. Gambit stared at her as if he did not recognize her; she felt her heart freeze.

"Rogue?" he moaned, at last.

She could finally breathe again. "Thank God" she said under her breath, closing her eyes as if grateful.

"What happened?" he asked as he made an attempt to sit up. He felt his body ache and sweat, with his clothes sticking. Rogue, still trembling, helped him sit up.

"Ah don't know... Ah... you screamed and..." her voice died down and she lowered her head, exhausted. "Ah was too scared to call for help..." then she looked up at him "Ah was scared..." _scared of losing you_. "You ok?" she asked suddenly, her tone of voice so different from before, now more determined, though still worrisome. Her right hand moved to touch his face but she held back in time, stunned, for she did not recognize herself. She had always avoided that kind of contact, then why...? It was not like her to act on impulse. She must have been losing her mind.

Gambit nodded he was alright but raised his hands to his head. "My head hurts," it was not a normal headache. "but dat's all."

"You gave me a huge scare" she said without measuring her words. "What happened?"

"A nightmare, I suppose. But not an ordinary dream."

Rogue frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno" he was just as shook up as she was. After he had managed to put his breathing under control, he made a huge effort to try to remember, but it was as hard as trying to grasp a dream. Cloudy, foggy, disorienting. All Gambit could count on was the sensations he remembered. Slowly, the pieces started to fall in place, at least as much as a dream could. "I saw your Professor" he said, suddenly.

"The Professor? But..."

"He told me somet'ing important. I just can't recall what it was. He, he said we... we..." he was starting to feel afflicted, wanted to stand up but did not have the strength to do so "we had to do somet'ing... what?" the pain in his head increased but he did not give up. He knew it was important, he had to remember. "He said somet'ing about running away. Because... somebody was... was dangerous. That's it! We have to hide... from him."

Rogue fell silent and barely blinked as she struggled to sort all that fragmented information out. Until She finally snapped out of it. "Him? You mean Apocalypse?"

"I'm not sure" Gambit replied honestly. "I guess. I don't remember your Professor saying his name, but who else would it be? And if it was Apocalypse he was referring to, it'd explain – at least, in part – why they hadn't come for you."

"That means they know where we are" she said silently. Gambit had been right from the start. Now she had the proof she so desperately needed. Then something else sprung to her mind. "He said we both had to hide?"

Gambit was quiet for a second. "That's how I see it, Rogue" he, himself, was surprised. The Professor was entrusting one of his own to him? To an Acolyte? It did not matter. "Doesn't matter. I'm going wit' you anyway" he said more intensively than intended. Even if he were told to get away from her right away, he would not. He would not desert her in the middle of nowhere, her being able to fend for herself was not the point.

Rogue frowned as her lips parted, trying to find her words, and failed. She stared at him, astonished, her eyes burning, starting in the corners and filling up with tears. She hated how he could take her by surprise so often.

She looked away and took a deep breath. "Why he get into your head an' not mine?"

"Dat's a good question" which he did not have the answer for.

Rogue stood up, running her fingers through her knotted hair, and started pacing. She stopped and looked at Gambit before she guffawed hysterically at the stupefying situation. "When you think things can't get any worse..." she was convinced she was going to return _home_ that very day.

Gambit offered her a tired smile. Rogue sat down again, now unconsciously farther from him.

"Where do we go?" she asked frankly as she turned her face to him. Saying _we_ left a painful taste in her mouth. "The Professor say anything about where to go, when, how long?"

Slowly, Gambit shook his head. "No, not'ing. Just dat we had to run away... fast" he lay back and closed his eyes. His head throbbing and his eyes sensitive to the light. He was so tired that he felt the slumber pulling him in. Rogue noticed it but did not move away. She felt her chest tighten. "It'll soon be morning" he said, exhausted, then opened his eyes. "We'll figure something out during the day."

"Ah don't know if Ah can do this."

Gambit fixed her with a gaze. "Do what?" stupid question, he knew. He just had to know that she would not say something along the lines of _Ah can't go with you_.

Rogue stayed quiet as she hugged her own body. "Ah can't just hide while Ah know mah friends are fighting against a mutant _Ah_ helpedwake" her voice got caught in her throat; she hated when it happened. It was not only for what he said. In the blink of an eye, all the adversity she had gone through of late came back to her. She had been used, she had been used yet again.

Gambit sat up and came close to her, but only enough. He did not want to scare her off. "It wasn't your fault, Rogue" his words were not only meant to comfort her, they were the truth he believed in. "He was controlling you. Dere was not'ing you could've done. It could've been any of us."

She lowered her head as she ran from his eyes. "It doesn't ease the pain."

Impulsively, Gambit tried to hold her hand, however, Rogue backed off as soon as she felt the heat of his hand. She got up in order to put distance between them, and also to avoid seeing the desolation that took over his features for a second. Just for a second.

She stood still, her back to him, holding her own body. For she had to stay alert one hundred percent of the time, it was not easy to remember that there was no longer danger of putting him in a coma. When she felt his hand, her heart almost stopped. For a second she thought that the next scene would be Gambit falling unconscious. She pushed the thought aside; it was worse than a nightmare.

Gambit, on the other hand, held in check the impulse to come close and comfort her, for he knew she would push him away again.

After a long silence, Rogue breathed in, and determinedly turned her face in a way he could only see her profile and she could watch him from the corner of her eye.

"You don't have to worry about me" she said bitterly and with a hint of irony. "I've been used enough times to know how to handle it."

Gambit finally stood to his feet. Still, he kept his distance. "Do you really?"

Rogue gave a bitter laugh at the poignancy of his question as she turned to face him. "You don't know what it feels like."

"I know more dan you think."

She felt breathless as words failed her. His face had never looked so serious. "Stop talking like you understand me."

Gambit took a step forward. "What if I do, Rogue?"

Rogue shook her head and headed back to bed. "Turn off the lights, Cajun."

Gambit rolled his eyes. And the girl from the first hours on the beach was back. He muttered something and did as she said. He could not say he missed that girl. The _fille_ must be bipolar. He lay down; however, he would soon find out it would be hard to fall asleep even though he was fatigued.

Rogue would also have a hard time trying to fall asleep; she would steal a glance at his bed every few minutes.

* * *

Eventually, Rogue gave up trying to sleep. After spending what felt like hours tossing and turning, she got out of bed. She went up to the window, opened due to the intolerable heat, and bent over the windowsill. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. Her head hurt from all the thinking she had been doing.

The minutes were long. As the day finally dawned, she observed some agitation through the window. That place was unbelievably hot. She could use a bath. Would give anything for a tub, but since there was not any, settled for another shower. It was her second shower and there still seemed to be sand in her hair. At least her clothes were dry, she thought, seeing Gambit's clothes next to hers.

When Rogue left the bathroom, Gambit was in her line of sight, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and that neutral facial expression that often seemed to be present.

"I brought us breakfast" he said. His hands were restless as he missed playing with his cards.

She picked one of the plates up, and quietly sat down on the bed where she had slept. She dared look at his face a couple of times, and saw that he eyed her from his bed. That look always made her feel uneasy. She felt as if Gambit was studying her all the time, her every move, her every gesture as he got to know her while his face gave nothing away. That notion made her seriously uncomfortable.

"You ain't eating?" she asked, this time without looking at him. Her tone of voice as neutral as she could manage. No preoccupation nor irritation.

"I'm not hungry" he replied in a similar tone.

She looked up at him after a long pause. "How you feeling?"

"I'm fine, _chère_."

"No more of those dreams?"

He shook his head. In fact, he was so shaken that he could barely sleep again. Gambit knew how to pretend, though.

As he was silent, Rogue spoke again. "You know, Ah think mah powers are back" she slid a glance at him to see his reaction; there was none. When she spoke again she almost stuttered. "Ah don't know how. Ah just know it. Would you, would you let me touch you so Ah can see what you saw in that dream?" the frightened look on her face escaped her attention but not his. Although he could not figure out the reason for her being afraid besides lying.

Gambit walked to her bed and promptly stretched his arm out. Palm up, fingers slightly bent. The look on his face, on the other hand, had not changed at all. He was bluffing. He was a player who was not afraid of taking chances.

Rogue stared at his hand being offered to her, and after few seconds of hesitation, she abruptly backed off, got out of bed on the other side and stopped by the open window with her arms crossed over her chest and her face grim.

When she turned around after long seconds, he had already left without making any sound.

* * *

Rogue did not have time to put her thoughts in order before Gambit's returning, less than half an hour later.

She was sitting on the bed, cross-legged, staring at the wall. "You knew Ah was lying, that's why you'd let me touch you so easily" she said as soon as he walked in.

"If I said I didn't? Would dat change anythin'?" he asked, trying to keep his tone neutral. However, as he went on, it grew harder. "You'd still not believe me. Would go on thinking I'm lying about everyt'ing because I have some kinda secret plan dat you have no idea what is but it sure is real."

When Rogue turned to face him with her eyes brimming with tears, Gambit regretted letting his voice be taken by irony. But it was too late to take it back.

Rogue stood up, all but offended. "You don't have the right to point your finger at me. Ah don't think you're lying abou' the dream. Even if you were the best actor ever you couldn't have faked that."

"Mabbe I'm not lying about de dream, only about what I saw in it."

Rogue was saddened by his words. She could not understand why he would depreciate his worth like that. She gave him the chance to defend himself but he chose to unjustly blame himself. "Are you?" she questioned sadly.

Gambit did not reply. He grew impatient as he paced the floor. He had to turn the game around and gain the upper hand again since he had chosen the wrong words. "You don't wanna believe me."

"No."

He halted and stared at her. He then came close to her almost invading her personal space. "Den why do you? Everyone you know, _everyone_ has used you one way or another. Dat's what happens when you trust. Den why do you trust me? An enemy?"

She could not understand where Gambit was getting at, as though he wanted to punish himself. So it finally sank in. He was not talking about her. "Would you have let me touch you in case you didn't know Ah was lying?"

"I have not'ing to hide about our time here" he answered back, nerveless.

" _Our time here_?"

"Everybody got secrets, _chère_."

"Yeah. And you're afraid Ah'll find out about yours. Whah?" Gambit turned his back on her, but she continued. "Ah look at your face and Ah see nothing, or, at least, nothing you don't want me to see. Ah ask mahself how Ah can trust someone like you. An' Ah can't find a rational explanation. And still here Ah am, listening to you, trusting mah life to you."

"You should be more careful" he said as he stole a glance at her over his shoulders. He was losing the game.

"Can Ah trust you?" she questioned straight away with a grave expression on her face. "Look at mah face and tell me Ah can trust you, Remy LeBeau."

Gambit gave a sidelong glance at her but did not answer for a long time. He looked away and finally offered an answer in a nod and a quiet "Yes."

Rogue tried to smile but the implications were lost on her. If Gambit had not been so reluctant to reply, perhaps. In truth, it did not matter anymore.

She was struck by shame and regret. Gambit had not given her one single reason to earn her mistrust. All she held against him was his past, but hers had its dark stains, too. She was gradually unraveling that he was far from being the man she judged him as.

His voice, two days earlier, telling her that all they had was one another came back to her.

"I have to go out again" he said, forcing her out of her thinking, but then hesitated. "Dere's some t'ings I need to take care of."

"Ah'll go with you" she said as she noticed his looking fazed. "You shouldn't keep going out by yourself after what happened last night" she would never confess to him how worried she was after letting him go out by himself that morning.

"I'm fine, _chère_. Besides, de streets are crowded. You don't want a repeat of yesterday, right?"

"Of course not, but–"

"Den stay" he emphasized his words with a gesture of his hands.

"What if something happens to you?"

"I know to take care o' myself, an' so do you" he paused. "Look. Dere's something I need to do by myself. Just dis once, do what I'm asking."

Though hesitating, Rogue nodded. She knew she would not be at peace for as long as he was absent. Having him near was uncomfortable but having him far was nearly unbearable.

* * *

Being cooped up in that room was starting to feel like a nightmare to Rogue. The worst part was that as soon as she found herself alone, her mind turned to the uncertainty concerning the X-Men's safety. She yearned to know if they were all right. The lack of information along with her powerlessness as she was forced to sit on her hands were driving her crazy.

And when Gambit was there, there were other issues to worry about. It was still inconceivable for her that she would be fleeing with an Acolyte indefinitely. Rogue did not know whether to feel guilty as that course of action did to seem to be particularly unpleasant.

After getting tired of pacing that tiny room, Rogue lay down on her bed with her head where her feet should be and her bare legs up leaning on the bedstead. Impatient hands on her stomach, she waited.

That was how Gambit found her.

Seemingly uninterested and lying upside down, Rogue watched as he stepped inside.

"I got some news" he said, looking a little more enthusiastic. He sat down on her bed. Rogue sat up so that he could go on. "I found us a place to stay. It's far from here, at a secluded beach. I talked to dis guy, he's gonna take us dere by boat. We can walk dare but it's much faster by water. Part of de way will be on foot anyway. It's all set, we stay here for one more night, so we can gather up everyt'ing we'll need and we leave early in the morning."

Rogue got to her feet, speechless. Gambit did the same but kept his distance.

"I talked to an acquaintance of mine" he continued "he'll keep us informed about everythin' dat's happening out dere. One more t'ing: he said the X-Men are safe and sound. He's a trustful source."

Rogue turned around and attentively studied him. Suddenly, she threw herself at him and wrapped her delicate arms around his neck. "Thank you" she murmured close to his ear, standing on the tip of her bare feet.

Astounded, Gambit took a few seconds to put his arms around her petite shape. "Don't mention it."

Rogue remained motionless for longer than seemed necessary, as though she did not want to leave the coziness of his embrace. However, at last, she slowly came down from her tiptoe.

She looked up at Gambit, straight into his eyes. Her arms slipped down from his shoulders to his chest where her hands rested. Gambit held her hands in his against his chest.

"No sign of your power?" he asked as his tone of voice dropped drastically.

She was starting to think they would never return. "Ah wouldn't mind if it stayed this way" she said in a sad laugh. She felt like she was losing her mind as she wondered how someone so sweet could have worked for a lunatic such as Magneto.

None of them dared move.

Through his clothes, Rogue felt the warmth emanating from his body, his chest slowly moving up and down and his heartbeat.

She frowned a bit. "Why's your heart beating so fast?"

Gambit slightly shrugged his shoulders without ever taking his eyes off her. "I don't know. He keeps doing dat when you're near."

As he spoke those unexpectedly sincere words, his hand slid to the back of her neck. At once, their faces had come close without their noticing. Their breathing heavy, the air dense in the small space between their parted lips.

Gambit lowered his head until his lips nearly touched. Rogue closed her eyes and let herself be swept away. She did not want to be in control of the situation.

All of a sudden, they backed off as they heard a crash below their window, followed by overwrought voices. It was more than enough to kill the mood of whatever was happening between them.

 **To be continued…**

 **XXxXx**

 **2 hours earlier:**

" _Allô_?"

"Émil? It's me."

"Remy? Your father's after you like mad, dude."

"I figured. I need your help."

"Typical, huh? You disappear, never let me know and den you come back asking for help."

"It's for a good cause."

"A woman involved?"

"..."

"Ha! I knew it."

"Dat's beside the point. You helping me or not?"

"Where are you, Remy?"

"India."

"Smart-ass. Where are you?"

"I'm in India."

" _Mon Dieu_ , how come you're so far?"

"It's a long story... how is...?"

"Bella Donna? Recovered, I guess. In any case she pretends not'ing's happened."

"De others?"

"Everything's pretty much de same. Jean-Luc has been looking for you for weeks. A source said you were in New York. He intends to go dere as quickly as possible. Anyway, what do you want me to do?"

"You really gonna help me out?"

"Yes. We're just like brothers, ain't we?"

"You can't tell anybody about dis, Émil."

"You can trust me."

"You know dat mutant dat's risen up?"

"What about him?"

"I need you to keep me informed about everyt'ing's dat's going on wit' him."

"Why?"

"I've told you already, it's a long story."

"Last I heard, he had put up some kinda pyramid."

"Any casualties?"

"No. I mean, I'm checking here and dere's no deaths reported."

"Den I need you to find out if de mutants involved are okay."

"Apparently, dey are."

"I need you to be sure."

"I'll have to go to the Big Apple do to dat and I don't wanna bump into your father over dere."

"De city's large enough. You have to go to Bayville."

" _Bien, bien_. But if I run into your father and he asks about you, I won't lie."

"All right, _merci_ , Émile. I owe you dis one."

"How can I get in touch?"

"I'll call you."

"All right. I gotta go. My plane leaves for Bayville in... two hours."

"Thanks, brother."

"Don't go t'inking it'll be cheap. Do you happen to know dese people?"

"Suppose I do."

"Well, you'll have to introduce me to dese girls. Dey're hot."

"You couldn't see it, but I just rolled my eyes, Émile."

"Just kidding, man."

"I, I gotta go."

"Take care, Remy."

"Yeah, you too."

* * *

 **Glossary:**

 _Allô –_ Hello

 _Mon Dieu –_ My god

 _Bien –_ Okay

 _Merci_ – Thanks


	9. Going away

**xXxXx**

 **G** ambit woke up the next morning around nine. He felt like staying in bed; however, the light coming through the thin curtains on the only window in the small room frustrated his plans.

He shifted uncomfortably, stretched out, feeling his back aching because the mattress was harder than he was used to. However, he had managed to get a fair amount of sleep.

He got up and his eyes turned to the girl asleep in the bed next to his. Not wanting to waste time, Gambit got up and headed to the bathroom; he desperately needed a shower. He would wake her up before going out to get breakfast.

Even though he had slept fairly well, it took him a while to pass out. His head was running in circles, pondering, analyzing. The seeming determination and coldness he so proudly sported did not mean that the young man was absolutely certain he was doing the right thing... After all, he would be fleeing and hiding along with her when he did not need to. And if there was something that Gambit hated was to feel trapped. Whether for a short period of time or not, he hated the uncertainty.

As abruptly as Gambit had gotten himself into that absurd situation, he could walk out of it. He could simply turn his back on the girl and walk away, no regrets. In any case, Gambit was not an X-Man. It was not of his concern; it had never been. Perhaps getting involved had been a huge mistake on his part.

He could not help thinking how much he would be giving up to stay with Rogue. He would be leaving behind the life he had. Staying with that girl meant giving up on all the others. Especially when the girl in question was exasperating, spoiled and ungrateful – but in moments of weakness she was as sweet and innocent as one could get.

Nonetheless, he could leave her in a safe place – why not? – he did not have to stay, could go back to... suddenly he could not find the right words. Go back to whom? There was no one waiting for him. At least not like one would wait for a dear friend who had been away for long. His father and the others were waiting on his returning for other purposes, and not because they missed him or any other noble sentiment as such. Everyone else seemed to want his head on a silver platter. Remy had an empty life, and it was hard to admit it.

He left the bathroom as he dried his hair with a towel, and once again, despite himself, his eyes fell on the bed where Rogue was lying. She had shifted her position, and now he could see her face. Her hair tangled, her head leaned on one arm while the other hung numbly off the side of the bed.

Unconsciously letting the towel fall on the bed, Gambit draw near to Rogue with cat-like steps and eyes fixed on her oddly calm face. He kneeled before the bed and took a moment to study her. Her face looked so peaceful, even though tired. She must have fallen asleep out of fatigue, just like him. She had pouches under her eyes, highlighted on her pale face.

Rogue seemed to be deeply asleep now, although Gambit recalled reading on her file how much trouble she had at night. For reasons that he could not understand, he had paid more attention to that short excerpt. Perhaps because it hit close to home. At that moment, though, Rogue seemed to be at absolute peace.

Eventually, she moved a little but did not wake up.

"Rogue?" he called her softly and waited for some reaction, but there was none. "Anna?" he tried almost hesitantly. Rogue moved again. Gambit then lightly touched her arm. "Anna?"

The girl moved her eyes under her eyelids and frowned slightly before her eyes finally flew open. Her pupils contracted at once, making it seem for an instant that there was only green. When her eyes focused, they found Gambit's face.

With an indecisive look, Rogue prompted herself on an elbow, which gave her an excuse to move away from him a little.

Gambit got to his feet. "We have to finish getting ready. It's almost time to go."

Rogue gave a subtle and uncertain nod of her head, but said nothing.

They fell silent. They knew how huge of a step they were about to take and they both had their doubts and insecurities regarding their decampment.

"I have to get out again" Gambit said as he headed to the door. "I'll be back soon."

He would for he had realized he would not be able to walk out on her.

* * *

With two large backpacks, which contained some changes of clothes, hygiene products and food for the next three weeks, Gambit and Rogue left. As it had been previously settled, they would be taken by boat to a specified point, and then would walk the rest of the way, out of precaution.

Throughout the trip, with the sea around them and the vague notion of something that looked like land, no one said a word. The man maneuvering the small boat was a man of few words. He demanded advance payment but did not ask any questions.

It was a monotonous and afflictive ride until they finally arrived at the beach. Gambit got down first, offering his hand to Rogue, who threw him the larger backpack instead, to keep his hands busy. She got down on her own, barefoot, with the water almost at her knees.

With a nod of his head, the scowling man was gone.

"Twenty more minutes on foot, and if everything goes as planned, we'll be there" said Gambit as he put the larger and heavier backpack on his shoulders. He righted the cap to better protect his eyes, looked around and pointed the way.

Rogue silently followed him with the other backpack on her shoulders and one hand on her head so that the wind would not carry her hat away.

There was something bothering her. Something that surprisingly had nothing to do with obvious reasons. Deep down, throughout the journey, Rogue contemplated the possibility that, once they reached land, Gambit would simply point the way and leave, offering no more than a cold farewell.

Now, as she watched the small craft look smaller as it went away, she was feeling ashamed for that possibility had crossed her mind.

Once again they had to walk.

Rogue kept two steps behind Gambit, and still, he noticed how often she would look over her shoulders. He stopped and turned to her. "Is dere a problem, Rogue?"

She fixed him with a surprised look, and then looked away. "Ah don't know... Ah don't know for sure. Ah mean... you know when you get the impression you're being followed, watched?" she paused, feeling self-conscious. "That's how Ah'm feeling."

Every leaf the wind blew, every flap of the birds' wings in the distance, every wave lying down, every noise. Rogue would turn, thinking there could be some threat lurking. She was getting paranoid.

"Rogue," he said in a soothing voice "do you really t'ink your Professor would send us running aimlessly without telling us where or why... not'ing, if Apocalypse was closing in on us? If dere was imminent danger?"

"Maybe he didn't have the chance" she said hesitating, after a short pause.

"Dat's not what it looked like."

She studied him for a moment. His face was just as incisive as his voice. She gave a half-laugh. "Either you're right damn often... or you know how to lie ridiculously well."

"What I'm saying makes you feel better?" he asked, unshaken. Though reluctantly, she nodded. "Den it can't be bad. Let's go. It's over dere" he added as he turned around.

* * *

They followed the coastline until they finally spotted a lonely bungalow, approximately a hundred feet from the sea.

Rogue could not help but be astonished at the view. Since it was a remote location, she had envisioned something completely different, maybe rustic, without electricity. However, as she stepped closer she could see that it was the perfect place to hide from the world without losing comfort. She wondered how Gambit had found that place and how much it cost.

She smiled in satisfaction as she took note of the entrance. Two steps led to the porch where there was a comfortable three-seater wicker couch on the right side of the front door, and a hammock on the left. Gambit climbed the steps, and picked up the keys; Rogue at his heels. They put their backpacks down on the floor to see the inside.

To the right was the kitchen, which though compact, would supply them with their needs. The large marble counter made up for the lack of a table. On the left-hand side was the bedroom, which was delimited by a tempered glass wall and had no door. In the bedroom, in addition to a large four-poster bed with a mosquito netting, there was a large dresser (inside towels and bedding) and a bedside table with a lamp on it. There was also a daybed, a couple of chairs and a few other pieces of furniture, which included a large mirror near the window.

There was also the backdoor and the bathroom door. The latter was not very spacious, but it had a tub. Between the bedroom and the kitchen, there was a sofa and a coffee table, and a few decorative objects.

"So, what do you t'ink?" he asked as he contemplated the place for the first time as well.

"It's perfect" she replied, smiling.

* * *

It was almost past six when they finished organizing what they had brought with them. They whipped up something to eat, and tried to settle in the new environment. The place was indubitably pleasant, although they knew they were not there on vacation.

Time seemed to fly and it was night again.

After a long and deserved bath, Rogue stepped out the bathroom wearing a tank top, shorts and flip-flops. It felt odd. She had not worn so little in a long time.

She rubbed her hands, still missing her gloves. As hot as that place was, she knew she would feel more comfortable if she had her gloves on. She was sure she would get used, though, as she always did.

Rogue looked around her and did not find Gambit. She made her way to the front door and stopped when saw him sitting on the porch.

Afar, the sun was setting. She could not tell whether he was attentively watching the sunset or simply lost in thoughts. He looked up when he felt her presence but she did not notice. Rogue halted, wondered whether she should go near him, and decided against it. It was getting harder to approach him. Gambit felt the same way.

* * *

Rogue went back inside, even though she was incapable of finding something that did not fail to distract her. She ended up finding herself lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Although her mind was somewhere else, her body was aware of the heat. She got to her feet and wetted her face and neck after coming to the conclusion that constant showers would do nothing in her favor. It was so hot that it was like she started sweating as soon as she finished showering.

Still, time seemed to fly.

Since the manifestation of her powers, Rogue had developed a predilection for the winter. It was torture to be all covered up in the summer. Having her skin exposed scared her, though. She took a deep breath, and reminded herself that she did not need to worry about it there.

After four days, she no longer believed her powers would return any time soon. In fact, she thought that they would never return. And the worst part was that Rogue did not even know how to feel. Not having her powers was not like she thought it would be. It left a bittersweet taste in her mouth.

The mere thought of sleeping with Gambit in the same bed made her chest tighten. With or without her powers, she was not willing to risk sleeping side by side with him. The bed was large, but she did not want to take any chances. And it was more than that.

Therefore, when she heard Gambit slid the front door shut, she squeezed her eyes closed. He headed to the bathroom, though. It was completely dark by then.

Rogue saw her chance and lay down in the middle of the bed in order to take up as much space as possible, covered herself up with the sheet and pretended to be sleeping. She silently hoped that Gambit would not lie down by her side.

It worked. This time.

* * *

Rogue got up late the next morning, still feeling tired since she did not have a good night's sleep. Countless times she dared peek at the daybed.

She had not opened her eyes when Gambit drew near and put the mosquito curtain in place. He made so sound at all, but she felt him as he came closer. She heard his defeated sigh and the intentional thump of his body settling down on the daybed.

Minutes had gone by before she had had the guts to open her eyes, and with the little light that came from the window, through the see-through cloth, she saw Gambit lying down. She observed him for a moment and closed her eyes again when he moved. Her eyes fluttered open again and noticed he had only shifted positions. Still, it was hard to tell whether he was sleeping deeply or only dozing. In fact, he did not seem to be comfortable; the daybed was not large enough for his size.

Rogue struggled to ignore the tightness in her chest, and turned to the other side. It would have been easier if he had complained. His sleeping in an uncomfortable place after a tiring day without saying a word was worse. She could not risk hurting him in case her powers sprung up, she kept saying that to herself over and over again.

When she woke, Gambit was no longer there. She struggled against leaving the unusual comfort of the bed. What would she tell him? It was her first night there and she was as confused as ever. She sighed, wondering if she was going mad.

The scent of coffee filled up her lungs, which felt like a great excuse to get out of the bed. Her stomach protested but she went to the bathroom first. She stepped out fifteen minutes later, with her hair wet and the same pattern of clothes.

She got to the kitchen, sat down at the counter and leaned her arms on it. She remained quiet. She would rather have him be the first to speak.

" _Bonjour_ " he saluted with his back to her. Rogue had thought he had not noticed her coming close. "Like your coffee strong?" he asked as he turned around.

"And with sugar" she replied with a sad little smile.

His voice was friendly but Rogue did not feel whole yet. Still, it did her good.

He served her coffee. Rogue breathed in its aroma; a familiar and comforting scent. "You sleep well?" she asked after a long pause. She honestly wanted to know.

" _Très bien_ " he replied with fake enthusiasm. "Except for the mosquitoes feasting on my skin."

Rogue could not help chuckling. "I guess the mosquito netting is there for a reason."

Gambit flashed her a fake smile, without showing his teeth. "Good to know you t'ink dis is funny" he said, scratching his arm. "How you sleep?" he sat down opposite to her.

"Fine" she said just like she was used to. It was automatic. Remy noticed.

After that, they failed to find a subject to talk about.

And so the second day went by, just like the first, no surprises and swift as a thunder. The predominant feeling on those first two days was trying to settle in that new life, even though there was no way of knowing how long they would stay. It could be days as well as months. Moreover, they were not sure how they would know when the time to go came.

They spent most of the time apart as they could not figure out how approach one another. Rogue felt a mixture of guilt and gratitude. It did not feel right to have put him in that situation but, at the same time, she was more than thankful that Gambit was there with her, even though he seemed to be avoiding her. Rogue would be a hypocrite if she let that bother her, though, as she had been doing the same.

They gathered for lunch, which Gambit had prepared. The two barely exchanged words. After that, they went separate ways again. Gambit headed to the sea, where he spent most part of the afternoon, whereas Rogue preferred to stay inside, alone with her own thoughts, as she was used to.

And so, night fell once again. Luckily, the nights, though hot as well, were much more agreeable than the days.

Rogue was sitting on the bed, trying to read a bit. Away from technology, they did not forget to bring some books with them. In addition to that, they found some dated magazines left behind in the bungalow. Reading would help pass the time.

When Rogue felt she had finally gotten into the story, Gambit interrupted her when he sat down next to her.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked casually as she put her book aside.

Gambit made an innocent face. "Getting ready for bed."

"But Ah thought the bed was mine" she said, more faltering than she would have liked.

"I don't remember agreeing to dat. Besides, I won't be mosquitoes' food again" he argued as he made himself comfortable in bed and purposely pulled the sheet all for himself.

"Could you at least put on a shirt?" she asked awkwardly, almost shy as she pulled the sheet over her legs. Internally, she battled with the fear of having him so close and the remorse she felt the previous night.

" _Non_ " he replied tongue in cheek with a wounded expression on his face. "If I'm too much a temptation for you, _chère_ , jus' turn to de other side."

She bit her tongue in order not to answer back. Oh, she wanted to rip that mocking smile out of his face. "All right" she said at last, begrudgingly. "Don't try anything stupid, Cajun."

"Like what?" he taunted.

"Ah'm serious" she warned as she pulled the sheets a little more energetically than it would have been necessary. "Don't touch me."

Gambit smirked. "Dat's hard to do."

"Gambit..."

He raised his hands in mock surrender. " _Bien_ , _bien_. I promise I won't touch you. Not deliberately, I won't. I mean, dis bed isn't very large and I need space."

"The bed is large enough" she asserted. She put down the book on the nightstand and turned off the lamp. Finally, she lay down with her back to him.

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**

 **Glossary:**

 _Bonjour_ – Good morning

 _Très bien_ – Very well

 _Bien_ – All right


	10. So hard to ignore the signs

**xXxXx**

 **R** ogue looked up to the sky again, this time trembling as a cold shiver went through her body.

She had spent the last few hours sitting on the first step on the porch, feet sunken in the sand, observing the sky as it seemed to be getting swallowed by the darkness of the night and the clouds merging and blackening. She could not say she liked that sight. Storms always made her uncomfortable and anxious.

She stared down at her bare hands fallen on her lap. Throughout the afternoon she tried to avoid any thought that included Gambit, and failed for the most part. And when she was finally able to push the thoughts of him away, it ended up being even worse for all she could think about instead was the X-Men back in Bayville, the unexpected disappearance of her powers and the uncertain duration of their stay in that bungalow, where her body was, unlike her mind. And then, again, her thoughts tuned to _him_.

As if Gambit had anticipated it, he came behind her, ever so silent, and laid down a thin coverlet on Rogue's shoulders. She, once again, stared at him in amazement. _Will you ever cease surprising me, Remy LeBeau?_ she thought, incapable of saying anything out loud. She pulled the coverlet tighter, feeling strangely cozy as he sat down next to her. He seemed to be looking at the sky as well; however, his eyes seemed to be just as absorbed as hers.

Rogue watched him for a moment, and then looked away, afraid he would suddenly turn his face to her. She could not help but thinking that Gambit might be getting fed up with waiting there with her. She doubted he was the kind of guy who would settle down and stay put for long; actually, she was sure of that.

Then why did he not walk away when he had the chance? She definitely did not want to think about that, but his being so close... she breathed in relief when he spoke again.

"Weird, isn't it?" he commented, not to make small talk on the most obvious subject but because he also felt the unusualness of the darkened sky. "Cooling down like dis... another storm on de way."

She nodded her head in agreement. "Ah didn't think it could get cold here" she said as she drew in a long breath and a pulled the coverlet even tighter around herself, covering up her back and arms. She closed her eyes for a second, her brow wrinkled as if fighting internally.

He flashed her a sympathetic look, which she seemed to feel, for she immediately opened her eyes and turned her white face to him. She looked away when she thought she found pity in them.

"T'inking of de X-Men?" he asked as he took notice of the girl's sorrowful visage; not for a second did he divert his dark eyes from her.

It was late in the afternoon, and after one more day of running away from each other, Remy decided it was high time to stop running and deal with it. He felt the need to share something with her. Being perceptive, he easily picked up on her sadness. Precisely for that reason, he first considered it to be the least adequate occasion to try to approach her. Thinking it over, though, he felt it was the most appropriate.

Rogue was clearly vulnerable, and he could make use of it. Not to make her even the more confused or anything of the sort, but to honestly take a step forward regarding the staggering relationship they were in.

She took her time to answer, tried to pick the right words, but even as she opened her mouth to speak, the words that came out did not seem to be right. "No. Not only that..."

"Your powers?"

She gave a silent nod and said in a weak voice: "So odd, Ah mean, Ah... for so long Ah wished to get rid of these powers. Ah've always thought they were a burden Ah'd have to carry for mah whole life" she made a brief pause. She hated, avoided talking about her powers to whomever; despite that fact, at that moment, she felt the need to get it off her chest. The strangest part of all was that she felt that Remy was the right person to open up to; she felt that somehow he would understand, so she stopped hesitating.

"A curse..." she continued, emphasizing the last word. "but now that Ah'm without them, it feels like a part of me has died. They were part of who Ah was... am; whether Ah like them or not" she paused again. She meant to take another look at him but suddenly became discouraged. "Sometimes Ah get myself thinking when Ah go back... when I'm back at the Institute, if there'll still be a place for me there" she shrugged her shoulders and gave a half-laugh. "If mah powers don't ever come back, Ah won't be an X-Man anymore."

"You're wrong" he told her emphatically, she had barely finished speaking. She flashed him a puzzling look; it was not the answer she thought she would hear. As a matter of fact, she did not expect to get one. "De little Ah know about de X-Men, Rogue, I doubt dey would shut you out. A blind man could see dat you're a family... a pretty strange one" he added in a quasi-comical tone. Rogue smiled. "but a family."

For the first time, the silence set around them was not mortifying; instead it was a silence that meant that two people were in agreement even though they did not express it verbally.

* * *

Rogue woke startled in the middle of the night with the pressing, helpless feeling of falling down. Her heart pounding, her breaths quickened and her body sweaty, unaware whether that was due to the hot weather or because she had just had a nightmare.

The first few seconds after she opened her eyes and felt to be awake, she did not know where she was. It rained so heavily that it bordered on being frightening. She thought she heard a noise nearby, although with the storm, it was hard to tell whether or not it was just her imagination.

A lightning, which seemed to fall few feet away from her, lit up the room. Rogue turned her face at Gambit and saw him get up. One more flash of light, and she saw him turn to her and, with a warning finger on his lips, ask her not to make any sound. Her heart froze. Hence, she was not imagining things; there must be something outside.

Intermittent lightning continued to illuminate the place for a couple of seconds at a time, followed by darkness.

"Stay dere" he whispered when he saw her make as if to get up. As if by magic, playing cards appeared in his hands. "I told you to stay put" he said, almost irritated as he noticed she was at his heels.

"No!" she said, incisively.

"Dis isn't an argument, Rogue. I'll go outside to see what it is and you stay inside."

"Don't treat me like Ah'm some defenseless damsel. You know Ah ain't."

"You don't have your powers" he whispered in an irritable tone.

"Ah don't need'em" she asserted more confidently than she really felt.

Gambit gave a defeated sigh but said nothing else, which meant reluctant agreement.

They headed to the backdoor with slow and silent steps. Rogue made an attempt to walk beside Gambit but he purposely positioned himself in a way she would be behind him. Before long, they were in the space between the kitchen and the couch, near the backdoor.

"Rogue?"

She drew near, almost brushed his back. "Yeah?"

"Go to de kitchen and get me something I can use, _oui_?"

"Like silverware?" she asked in a whispering and trembling voice.

" _Oui_. Like silverware."

In the dark, she took careful and slow steps, touching the air. She hasn't memorized where the furniture was and ended up stumbling.

Thunders lit up the whole place again; they seemed to come more often now, which made possible for her to find the drawer and pick up some silverware.

She cursed under her breath for being unable to bring them as silently as intended. "Here, Gambit" she kept a big knife with her, held it firmly next to her chest, with her right fist.

Gambit grabbed the silverware moving only his right hand in an almost imperceptive way. Due to the nature of his powers, anything that fell into his hands could turn into a weapon – in some cases, lethal.

He positioned the objects in his agile fingers as he gazed at the door. Yet another thunder rolled and his eyes shone intensively, frighteningly demoniac, capable of making an enemy feel paralyzing fear. In reality, Gambit did not know against whom or what he was taking a stand.

With his free hand, he moved Rogue behind him again. "Stay behind me, _chère_ " he murmured once he noticed that her stubbornness had put her by his side.

"You see that?" she asked in affliction.

It looked as though a shadow passed outside the door; however, the darkness made it hard to distinguish what it was. Then, with a boom, something seemed to be thrown against the door. They almost jumped backwards.

For a few seconds, the thunders seemed to calm down. Using the light of a charged card, Gambit drew near to the door, collected, for now he understood what it was about. All along it had been nothing more than a tree bumping against the house. The intensity of the storm had knocked it down.

They could finally breathe again.

"It's alright, _chère_. It was just a tree."

Rogue raked her fingers through her hair. She staggered to the kitchen, turned the lights on and laid the knife down on the counter. She served herself a glass of water, with shaking hands. Turned her scared eyes at Gambit. "You also thought it was him, right?"

"No" he replied in a calm voice as he put down the weapons that now were back to being silverware.

Rogue drew a little closer to him. "You must be losing your knack, Cajun, cause Ah'm sure you're lying."

"It did cross my mind" he confessed, without a moment of hesitation. "If I hadda bet, though, I'd bet against it. He doesn't know where we are, Rogue. No one does. We're safe here. As I see it, we are left wit' two options: we can live in fear, paranoid; or believe we're safe here and enjoy."

She was going to ask him what he meant by 'enjoy', however, that seemed to be the only part of his speech that did not really matter. Rogue shut her eyes tightly after it thundered again.

"Ah hate storms" she said. "When Ah was a child Ah used to have nightmares with lightning and thunder" Gambit stepped forward; she did not even notice. "Ah remember... Ah remember this one night when Ah was little. Before Mystique adopted me" she ignored the bitter taste as fast as she could. "Ah heard shouting. Mah parents' voices. They sounded angry" she swallowed in a dry throat. "It was pouring rain that night. After that it was like every time it rained Ah could hear their cries in the thunders. And... even now Ah can't sleep well when it rains heavily. Ah can still hear their voices inside mah head" despite herself she touched her head with her hands. "Ah think that didn't happen often, y'know... Ah feel that, that they were with me there, but ironically that's the only vivid memory Ah have of them" she gave a bitter laugh.

"You're lucky. At least you have some memory of your parents" he said bitterly.

Throughout her speaking, she felt her heart tighten; only after she turned to face him that it actually hurt, though; she felt her eyes burn with tears. "Ah'm sorry."

His lips curled into a reassuring smile. "Don't be" he said as he turned away from her.

Rogue rushed to reach him, touched his arm in a quasi-caress. "You don't know your parents?" she asked in a weak, sad voice.

He shook his head. "I don't even know who they are."

The hand touching him slipped down his arm and backed off when she noticed she was touching him. The embarrassment she would have felt on a different occasion went unnoticed, insignificant as it was.

He spoke again. After her confiding in him such poignant memories, doing the same did not seem so bad. Perhaps it would bring him some kind of relief. "Mabbe giving birth to a child wit' dese eyes mustn't've been de best experience."

"You think that was the reason?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? It makes sense."

"What about your name?" she asked as she tried not to seem hesitant. She craved to know more about him; took advantage of his willingness to speak.

"I was adopted when I was ten by a man named Jean-Luc LeBeau."

She smiled in understanding. He saw in her eyes that she wanted to know more. He touched her chin and lift it slightly up. "He took good care of me, Anna, though he made good use of my powers, too."

Rogue recalled the night back at the hotel days earlier when he told her he understood. Only now she believed.

"We might as well write a book, you an' me" he gave a half-laugh, his tone of voice subtle, almost of mockery. Her face, on the other hand, turned grave. Deep down he was serious. They shared similar experiences.

Without saying another word, Gambit turned on his heels and headed back to bed. Rogue took her time. When she finally drew near to him, Gambit was sitting in the bed, playing with a deck of cards. She could not deny that she was happy to see he was still up.

She sat down, covered her legs with the sheet and got up the courage to speak again. "Ah don't know if Ah can go back to sleeping now."

Gambit slipped a playing card – she could not see which – between his fingers; it rolled over and under his agile fingers. "De storm is getting weaker. It'll be over soon."

"It's not it."

"What is den?" he asked as he at last turned his face to her.

"Ah don't know."

"Maybe sharing a bed with an enemy makes you feel uneasy" and all tenderness in his voice suddenly vanished.

"No" she said as fast as she could. She shook her head, almost desperate to make him believe. He did it again. He ruined a sincere moment with comments that were uncalled for. This time she almost hated him for doing that. "You're not..." but her voice died out.

"Finish what you were sayin'" he said as his face came close to hers. Once again his cards disappeared. "What am I?" he asked, demanded. At that moment (and later on when he would deliberate about it) he could not tell whether he was acting that way for the mere pleasure of pressuring her and throwing her off balance or if deep down he had hopes to obtain a true answer, whatever it may be.

He would not admit to being weak. He must have been out of his mind to have said those words. "What am I to you, Rogue?"

"Ah don't know" she said, at last, in a defeated tone as in a whisper. "But you aren't mah enemy anymore" she felt her eyes wet with tear as his eyes studied her face. Not like the first time; unlike any other. She turned her face away.

"You want me outta here?" he asked after a few moments of silence. He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, melancholically.

"No" she said as she turned around. "Don't."

Strangely enough, she did not think his question was meant to tease her. Only he knew it had been for selfishness and cowardice. It would be a great excuse to stay away from her. All joking aside, sleeping in the same bed made it harder to think straight.

* * *

Exactly like the morning before, Gambit was no longer lying next to Rogue when she woke up.

She stayed in bed even after being completely awake. It had been another difficult night to fall asleep. It had been the same with Gambit, she knew it. He could not stand still; tossed and turned, shifted position, and still seemed incapable of falling asleep. Rogue could not tell if he had dozen off eventually, since fatigue finally defeated her.

She stood up, and, after a long shower, fixed herself something to eat.

Minutes went by slowly, which made it the more insufferable to stay in that empty house.

Rogue took an action and decided to explore the beach further. There must have been a number of beautiful places to see and relax. Gambit could very well be in one of those at that moment. Perhaps she would bump into him on her way. Just because she was not sure that that was what she wanted, it did not mean it had not crossed her mind.

Rogue headed to the back, jumped over the fallen tree from the previous night, and went on walking without a destination. She followed a narrow track among the trees until she saw something that filled her eyes with awe. A small waterfall. The fallen water seemed to blend into a stream of pure green water.

She smiled in delight. She had suspected what she might find when she heard the sound, although did not anticipate to come across such a beautiful place.

Without thinking twice, she stripped off her shorts (resisting the urge not to get rid of her tank top too because she was not wearing anything else) and dived right into the water.

Sunlight did not reach there anymore, covered by the tallest trees, although the water was still warm. It was so limpid she could see the rocks in the deep; they were mostly large and smooth and did not seem to hurt in case Rogue touched them with her feet.

The girl swam freely like she had not in a long, long time. She did not swim in a stream since she left her hometown and went to Bayville. And even before, moments like that were not as often as when she was a child.

Before she could see it, Rogue was back to being a little tomboy girl who would sneak out of the house to take a dive in the river. Back when there were no absorption powers, when everything was easier, when the truth did not hurt, when there were no responsibilities and the weight of her mistakes did not slow her steps down.

* * *

On the other side of the beach, Gambit headed back to the house after a long walk. He had left as soon as the dawn broke. Having barely slept, he needed a distraction.

The weather was gorgeous; it was as if after a dark stormy night, the sun had risen proudly. When it shone too strongly, Gambit realized that maybe he had walked longer than intended. The rumbling in his stomach pointed to that.

He got back to the house, grabbed an apple out of the fruit basket he had arranged days before, and, at last, realized that Rogue was absent. She had not left the house before. Gambit felt a pang of concern. He told himself there was nothing to worry about; still, the girl from the night before came to his mind. So scared, shaken.

He called her out loud, but there was no answer. What if she had strayed too far from the house? What if...

"She's alright" he murmured to himself, in an attempt to mock that ridiculous feeling. He took a bite out of the fruit and chew it up without tasting it. "De girl can take care o' herself."

One hour later, though, Rogue had not showed up. Gambit looked for her around the house and then headed to the back. He struggled to get the fallen tree, responsible for so much affliction hours earlier, out of the way. His eyes fell upon footprints, so he followed the way she had before and soon found the stream whose existence was unknown to him.

Through the clear water, he saw Rogue's body slowly emerge. She spent a few seconds floating motionlessly with her face down. To him, it seemed as though something was wrong. Without a second thought, he jumped into the water as he was. Nonetheless, before he could reach her, Rogue turned around, alarmed by the heavy splash sound.

Her wide open eyes met his. Through strands of hair, she stared at the strange look on his face, unaware of what was going on. His eyes also showed tremendous confusion. Gambit frowned, and without saying nothing at all, got out of the water and turned his back to Rogue.

She put on her shorts over her wet panties and went after him. "Gambit, wait! Gambit!"

He pretended not to hear and strode away from her, without giving her the chance to catch up to him until they got to the house.

Rogue pulled him by the arm, forcing him to turn around. "Will you tell me what that was all about, Cajun?" at that point her patience was hanging by a thread.

Gambit stared down at her. "I t'ought you... I t'ought you were gone" her brow wrinkled in confusion. He pressed his lips and frowned. His voice, then low, was suddenly deep. "Don't ever do dat again."

"Ah don't get why you're so upset" she raised her voice despite herself. His bossy tone irritated her greatly. "It was you who disappeared the whole mornin'."

"Dat's why" he said, and his voice turned into a painful murmur as he drew dangerously near to her. "I t'ought I'd lost you."

Rogue stepped backwards once she realized how close he was getting to her. Her back touched the wall, and Gambit pressed his wet body against hers, laying his lips on hers intensely.

Her lips responded immediately, even though, at first, she did not know what to do with her hands, given her surprise. It was not long until she instinctively lay her hands down between his chest and shoulders. Remy pulled her closer, wrapped one arm around her waist and cupped her nape with his other hand.

Neither of them could tell how long it lasted, only that it had been long enough to make them lose track of reality. Their mouths moved apart only after they could no longer breathe. Their chests went up and down rapidly, their lips half-open – still so close – pulsed, and their eyes, dimmed, saw nothing else.

As unexpectedly as Gambit had come near, he stepped back. In the blink of an eye, he was gone through the door.

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**

 **A/N:** Since you reached this far, why not writing what you thought of this chapter? It would make my day. BTW, thanks for the reviews of the last chapters. They always make me happy.


	11. As days go by

**xXxXx**

 **T** hick raindrops violently hit against the living room window at the Xavier Institute. The very tall and dark-skinned woman stood in front of the main door at the mansion, protected from the rain on the porch, seemed to be responsible for the sudden weather change.

 _Where are you, Logan?_ the weather witch thought to herself, although she had a clue.

Storm felt something was wrong. She remembered Logan's words earlier that sunny afternoon.

" _I need to know if she's fine, 'Ro. It's eating me alive. And what do we have? Predictions of a crazy woman and Xavier's faith in her words. An' the worst part is that, after all this time, we don't have a goddanm clue on how to take Apocalypse down."_

At that moment, Storm could not think of anything worth saying. Now she regretted it.

* * *

Sitting on her armchair in the dark, Destiny knew of his coming. Still she wondered what had taken him so long. Then, her ears, sharp as someone's who had not been able to rely on her vision for many years, captured a subtle sound.

"I want proof she's safe" grunted a voice behind her back.

"That's a guarantee I cannot offer" replied Destiny, calmly.

"Look into the future and tell me how she is" the voiced commanded.

This time, besides the imposing and hoarse voice, she could hear the sound of blades cutting through skin.

"Why? As far as I remember, you refuse to believe me."

Wolverine took a while to reply, despite not being a man who minced his words. "You were right about one thing... we didn't and we still don't have another choice but to trust you."

"Well, I did look into the future" she replied a few seconds later.

"And what'd you see?"

"Fog."

"What the hell does that mean?" asked Wolverine as he raised his voice. It was odious how she insisted on speaking in riddles.

Destiny sighed and stood up. With short and faltering steps, she walked towards Wolverine. With her dark shades and cane, she looked like a fragile old woman. With a weak voice, she answered: "The future hasn't been changed yet..."

"What do you mean by that? We did everything you told us to do" at that point, Wolverine was yelling. Nonetheless, Destiny did not falter. She expected that reaction.

"It has been changed to a certain extent, however it's still not enough."

"That means Apocalypse can still win."

The woman lowered her head, as if averting her eyes from the Canadian's face, as if she had been seeing him all along. "Blaming yourself will only do you harm."

Suddenly, Wolverine realized his going there had been a huge mistake. He was about to leave when she spoke again.

"She's fine."

Wolverine saw himself out without saying another word, telling himself it all had been nothing more than a waste of time.

When he got back to the mansion, Storm was waiting for him.

"Don't give me that look, 'Ro" he said on the defense as he walked up to her.

Before Storm could reply, though, they were interrupted by the slam of the door, and a flustered Kitty.

"You know when Professor Xavier said he feared Magneto could try something stupid?" she said, spitting the words out "You _gotta_ see this."

In a few seconds, they had gotten to the living room, where all students were gathered, their eyes fixed on the TV.

On the screen, Magneto was smashed by Apocalypse's forces.

In back of the room, Xavier lowered his head, and left the room unnoticed.

* * *

Even after having lost sight of Gambit, Rogue remained confused and disoriented like never before – and _that_ meant a lot.

She slipped her back down the wall wishing she could disappear. Still, she stayed sitting on the floor, incapable of moving. She touched her mouth despite herself. Her wet clothes gave her cold shivers, even though her body felt like it was burning.

She made an attempt to stand up but realized her legs were shaky and too weak to support her weight. It took a long time for Rogue to come back to her senses. She stood to her feet and went to change her clothes, which now were only slightly wet.

She tried to empty her head. Desperately struggled to move what had just happened to the back of her mind, since she doubted she would forget it so soon. And the alien feelings (that was the only appropriate term she could think of at that moment) that took over her body made everything the more baffling and surreal.

Rogue concentrated so hard in her inner battle that she got absent-minded to the point of forgetting whatever it was around her. She dried her body and started to change her clothes, looking down at the bed.

Gambit came behind her right after she had finished dressing. He swallowed in a dry throat and rested his shoulder against the wall on his left. He was wearing the same clothes; the only difference was that now they seemed to be almost dried. His skin was quite red for having walked too long under the sun, whereas his eyes had gone back to their usual neutrality.

Once again, playing cards showed up between his fingers. A little smirk curled his lips. "About what happened earlier..." he started; then stopped and trailed off purposely. His tone of voice was conversational, as if he were talking about the weather. It hurt her – just for a second.

Gambit's eyes carefully watched the motions of his fingers playing with cards as he spoke; suddenly he looked up at her. His eyes were not the same. These were shallow, opaque, lifeless. "I hope you ain't upset about it."

Upset was definitely not the right word. Rogue crossed her arms after tucking a lock of wet hair behind her ear. Nonetheless, no answer left her mouth.

He went on. "If you could understand..." he trailed off again, offering her the chance to say something; Rogue remained silent, though. "All dese days here... jus' the two of us... I mean, you're a pretty girl and—"

She finally interrupted him with a gesture of her hand. "Ah understand, Cajun" she knew it was a shameless lie. Despite it all, at that moment, all that mattered was to play along, to pretend like he did. If Gambit did not give a damn about it, why would she? After all, it was not as if it had meant something.

" _Très bien_. Won't happen again. Unless you want to" this time his voice was filled with innuendo. In part, it reminded the Gambit from before.

"Ah don't" she rushed to say. "Didn't mean nothin', right?"

His gaze lingered in her eyes before he replied. " _Non_. Not to me."

"Great. We're in agreement then."

"Still... it's your loss, _chère._ "

She put her hands on her waist, teasingly. "An' Ah doubt it, Cajun."

He smiled and walked away. Although, deep down, he knew that was not the end.

* * *

In the evening, after spending another afternoon apart, Gambit found Rogue lying on the couch. She had nothing in her hands, in fact, they looked so idle and impatient that her fingers drummed on her belly time after time, as if itching for some action. What was on her mind, though, was unknown to him.

She noticed his coming near. "Help me out wit' dinner?" he offered; his voice was neither contrived nor cold, just casual.

Rogue looked up and, with a feeble little smile, nodded her head.

And so they had dinner together for the first time in days. It was true that they exchanged few words; however, the fact that it did not feel awkward was reason enough to be grateful.

What happened between them that morning surprisingly did not keep them apart like they thought it would; it had the opposite effect. As neither of them admitted the kiss meant anything, it actually did them good. It was as though they had been curious and uneasy for all that time and then could finally get their curiosity out. That kiss helped them to get whatever that was bothering them out of their chests.

The problem was that now they had no idea of how to deal with the feelings that remained – and surfaced – after the ones that were sorted out. Although, at the peak of their stubbornness, neither would admit there was any sentiment between them, for that reason, it did not seem to be a heavy weight to carry.

They did not talk about what happened that morning during dinner, or even later, but it felt as though they had a silent agreement so that that topic would never come up again. Specially because ruminating something so insignificant seemed unnecessary.

That day ended up being the healthiest they had since the day they found themselves together on that beach – a morning that felt so distant. The discomfort they brought on one another was no longer there.

At night, Rogue lay down in bed, her back to Gambit, as she always did – which did not mean she would wake up in that same position. At least, it spared her of being visually aware of the Cajun's presence as she slept, though.

Gambit smiled, lying back with his arms behind his head. Teasing her seemed to have become even more fun. "You'll get tired of sleeping in the same positon, _chérie_ " Rogue said nothing; she was not going to fall for it, and Gambit was not going to give up. "It makes me wonder what de problem really is" he pretended to wander with his voice annoyingly mellowed. He felt her move subtly, which would have slipped through the cracks in case he was not such a terrific reader.

Gambit smiled. "It one o' two things: either you t'ink my presence is insufferable... or I'm too much a temptation for you" she firmly kept her cool; did not move a muscle, barely breathed. Neither did she notice Gambit's effort not to break out laughing. "Obviously I believe de second option is de reason for your hostility."

"Will you shut up for a second?" she finally erupted. She did not mean to be so rude but felt better as soon as she did it. That was how it worked, she thought, prepotently. She was wrong, though; Gambit was not convinced.

After some long seconds of silence, Gambit spoke again. "You know what your silence really means?"

Even though Rogue had her back to him, she could feel him smile delightfully. Disgruntled, she rose up to a sitting position, and crossed her arms. "What?" she asked between gritted teeth.

"As always, I'm right... _c'est la seconde option_."

Rogue snorted and once again turned her back to him. It was exasperating how neither ignoring him nor facing up to him seemed to work. Oh, sometimes she hated him.

Gambit lay down as well and pulled the sheet almost uncovering her. She retaliated by doing the same.

Another smirk curled his lips. Perhaps he would steal another kiss one of those days.

* * *

As the first week went by, things started to feel gradually less awkward between Rogue and Gambit.

What they fail to comprehend was that their sudden intimacy, which had led them to share a kiss, made it possible for them to reach a new level in terms of living together.

In no time, they did not feel embarrassed any longer nor did they feel afraid at each other's presence. They started to spend more time together and even stopped fighting against their physical attraction, whose existence could no longer be denied. After all, they agreed, even though not verbally, that physical attraction was responsible for making them act that way. It seemed they had finally realized that. They planned to hang out so that, who knows, time would pass by faster and make their stay there more pleasing. After all, they only had each other.

There was no one to be seen during their days on the beach. That way, the treacherous voice inside Rogue's head, which feared for her safety, was close to being inaudible. Still, every time she laid herself down to sleep or remained silent, her thoughts turned to the Institute. Even though her preoccupation was not as intense as before, she longed to know how things were playing out, if everything was alright. She wished to tell the X-Men that she was alright. It happened every night. A kind of excitement, anticipation. It was hard to tell whether the constant arguments with Gambit were becoming more and more fun or something else.

Rogue tried to push that thought aside countless times, and it would always come back to haunt her. She thought that maybe she liked her new life there more than her life before.

* * *

It was the seventh night when Rogue was lying on the couch, humming an old lullaby, which, for some reason, had sprung to her mind. She felt her eyelids get heavier and heavier, though she did not dare move. There was an aura of comfort surrounding her body; sweet, almost familiar.

She closed her eyes for a moment; she did not fall asleep but felt the slumber come to her. Her lips, however, went on moving slowly, although there was nothing more than murmur coming out of them. And, even though her ears were filled with the muffled sound of her own voice – that barely resembled a melody –, they caught a knock coming from the porch.

She opened her eyes and felt the strength to get up. Perhaps she was fed up with lying down or she was feeling attracted by something outside. As she headed to the porch, Rogue heard another knock. She leaned on the door to watch Gambit, who threw knives against the wood pillar that supported the porch around six feet away from where he was.

Gambit, who had noticed her drawing near even before she was at his field of vision, cast a sidelong glance at the girl. A second later he tossed another knife, which hit the wood almost at the exact same spot of the previous one.

"Wow!" Rogue breathed. The fact that Gambit asked for silverware back at that frightening stormy night made even more sense now. With an ability like that, Gambit would not need to use his mutant power at all, although it exponentially increased his destruction powers with any weapon that fell into his hands – even if it did not look like a weapon at first.

Gambit walked up to the pillar and pulled the knives off the wood with three or four vertical movements. The knives seemed to disappear in his hands, and he was not even wearing long sleeves.

"Thought cards were your specialty, Cajun" she commented with a friendly smile, feeling like talking.

"Dey are" he said before tossing another precise knife that seemed to stick on the very same spot as the previous ones. There were a few more cracks, which indicated that many other blades had found their way to that small spot at the height of the Cajun's eyes.

"So you like playing with knives sometimes?" Rogue rolled her eyes internally because of her stupid question. However, as Gambit remained silent, she made an attempt at saying something in order not to let the conversation – if you could call it that, that is – end so briefly. That ridiculous comment was all she could come up with.

Gambit did not seem to have found it such a terrible question, for he chuckled slightly, curving the corner of his lips, and revealing dimples that only now Rogue noticed. "No doubt cards are my favorite, but dat doesn't mean I can't work wit' other options. Right, _chère_?" he tossed another knife without apparently aiming. It hit the intended target like all the previous knives. "I was raised in a family of t'ieves" he revealed as if it were nothing. It was a part of his past he did not care to hide. Moreover, he figured Rogue was smart enough to have that much figured out. Judging by the expression on her face, he was right. "that's why I've had all kinds of lessons. O'course I've always had a soft spot for offensive weapons, even before my powers came up."

One more knife tossed, and his eyes did not want to focus on Rogue, despite the fact that his movements seemed to be getting the more mechanic. He continued speaking, as if suddenly talking about himself had become easy. "When I realized knives could be too dangerous when combined wit' my mutant powers... I switched to cards. Dey're light – I can carry a whole deck in a pocket –, dey're easy to handle, and, although dey can do huge damage, dey ain't lethal."

Rogue had not moved, and then said: "Logan has trained me in a way I could fend for myself, but for some reason, he's never let me use any kind of weapon. Ah've never understood why. Now Ah'm thinking he might've wanted to protect me. Come to think of it, it's kinda strange, he knew Ah've never felt comfortable attacking, Ah mean, without using mah powers, it would be logical for me to have some kinda weapon."

"Funny how you speak in de past tense, Rogue."

The girl felt her face blushing.

"I can teach you if you want" offered Gambit, picking up on her sudden discomfort. He came closer. "Here" he said, pointing at her neck. "is as lethal as here" the heart.

"I don't wanna learn to kill" she said, nervously. She thought his comment to be odd and, in a way, unnecessary.

Gambit scowled for a reason Rogue did not understand. "Wanna learn to throw or not?"

Rogue nodded.

They shifted positions. Gambit showed her how to properly hold the knife, positioned her arm and said "now". The knife hit the pillar with the handle and fell down; the blade made a disquieting buzz.

" _Bien_ , but I believe de goal is to hit wit' de sharp side" he said in a voice full of mockery.

Rogue determinedly positioned herself for another throw, focused her eyes at the target. She would show him she could do it. She threw it again, confident she would get it right. Again, the knife hit the wood and fell.

Gambit chuckled. "Well, you hit with the blade dis time" he crouched down, and scooped the knives up from the floor. "You actually have a knack for it."

"Shut up, Cajun" she retorted begrudgingly.

"It's true. Just need practicing."

And Gambit was right, after all. Twenty minutes later, Rogue could get six out of ten throws to hit the target.

When it seemed she had started to get the hang of it, she gave in to the pain in her arm.

"We can get back to it tomorrow" said Gambit, yawning.

They stepped in, and, surprisingly, went to bed without fighting.

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**

 **Glossary:**

 _C'est la seconde option –_ It's the second option

* * *

 **N/A:** Thanks for the last chapter reviews. I loved them!


	12. Inside Out

**xXxXx**

 **R** ogue stopped short and sat down on the sand, panting as she held her knees.

"Hey! What do you t'ink you're doing?"

Rogue looked up at the hoarse voice with her eyes half-closed due to the overwhelming sunlight since the sun was not completely set yet.

"Taking a moment's rest" she replied, indolent, and with a sarcastic smirk, which was starting to resemble his. Perhaps they had been spending too much time together.

"We've barely run twenty minutes" said Gambit with a voice that was supposed to sound serious, but that did not last. "Thought you were in better shape dan dis" he teased with a half-smile.

"Ah'm not outta shape" she said, making a face of superiority, as if she felt offended by his words. Actually, she would have, in case the memories of exhausting training sessions in the Danger Room did not seem so far in the past. "It's this hot weather" she protested as she pulled her hair back in what could have been a ponytail had she remembered bringing something to tie her hair up. The back of her neck breathed again.

"Lame excuse" he said. "C'mon. Let's get going" and reached his hand out to her.

Without a moment's thinking, Rogue reached for his hand, however, before Gambit could help her to her feet, Rogue grabbed his wrist with her other hand, and pulled him down until Gambit lost his balance and fell on his butt.

"There you go" she said, triumphantly as she giggled. "Now you can give yourself a break too, bayou-boy."

Rogue then lay down on her back on the sand, her head resting on her crossed arms. The sun was finally going down. That was their preferred time of the day when the sun began to lose its strength. Gambit stared at her tranquil face for a moment and surrendered. With a smile, he lay down next to her.

They watched the sky in silence.

"You know what they say abou' this being romantic?" she asked rhetorically, with her voice light and melodic. Although his nod of affirmation went unnoticed, she went on anyway. "Ah'm starting to think they're right" she paused. "Have you ever stopped just to watch the sunset?"

"Yeah" he replied.

 _Ah haven't_ , she thought; and waited for the rest of his answer, which never came.

Without warning, Rogue propped herself on an elbow and leaned over him. Not a second did she hesitate, just acted on impulse, as she was getting used to doing. She came closer to him a few inches, tentatively. It felt good. It did not scare her as before. She liked it. Now she yearned for more. "What scares you the most, Cajun?" she asked, forgotten of her own fears.

He gave a half-laugh. "What?"

"What is Remy LeBeau afraid of?" she asked with a smile he found captivating.

"Why you ask?"

"Because Ah've been trying to figure it out for some tahme, but you act like you don't fear nothing. Since Ah couldn't find the answer, Ah decided to ask you."

Gambit chuckled. "Dat simple?"

"Yeah."

He laughed even more, tucked a lock of white hair behind her ear and let his hand linger there a little longer. "You really think I'd give that answer away so easy?"

"No," she said, making a comical face. "but you can't blame a girl fo' trying."

"You tell me den" he suggested.

She laughed sarcastically, not really appreciating his suggestion. "That ain't fair, Ah asked you first."

"Well, I fear nothing" he said, exultingly.

"Liar. There must be something."

"Mabbe you find it out one day."

She smiled close to his smile, stood up and offered him her hand. They resumed their walking.

* * *

Rogue woke up to the delicious scent of fresh coffee, just like many other mornings in the second week of her new life. It was unbelievable how time passed by so fast. Sometimes, it felt surreal, like a dream. Rogue felt as if she were a different person living someone else's life. Perhaps that was not so far from the truth.

She stretched out pleasurably – a habit she had taken up from Gambit and was enjoying it more and more. She was loving not to have to hurry to get out of bed, unlike the rushing of every morning at the Institute. Back there, she seemed to wake up too early, too moody to go someplace she did not like, with people she detested. Everybody hated her at the school, anyway. All in all, what difference it was now that she would wake up with a smile on her lips and feeling like exploring that beautiful place.

The morning in question, Rogue felt too lazy to get up; the burning in her stomach got the best of her, though. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed as she looked for her comfortable flip-flops before she could leave the comfort of the bed entirely. She then went straight to the kitchen. It was always so hot that Rogue did not bother to change clothes anymore. She felt comfortable enough the way she was. Tank top and shorts had become her uniform against the heat – just like boxer-shorts to Gambit.

Rogue could not help but smile as she saw her breakfast prepared just the way she liked it – and not for the first time. It was astounding how much one learned about the other on such a short period of time together (peacefully). The change came about, of course, after they had agreed to stop arguing (often).

Since they began to spend more time together and, therefore, to pay more attention to each other, everything had changed. It looked as if they had become good... friends. They knew that had to be the right word, though, it obviously did not stop the bitter taste in their mouths. To say they were friends made them feel like there was something out of place.

Though the truth was that, at that point in time, one knew what the other liked to eat, their favorite movies, the songs that made their hearts beat faster, parts of their childhood – even though not much, or enough.

One knew when the other was annoyed, sleepy or just feeling lazy. Every expression on each other's face; every look. It came as a surprise that they had come close together in such a short period of time. It must have been their forced captivity. That was what they thought, anyway.

Rogue nibbled a piece of cake, but could not simmer down to eat after looking around and noticing that, strangely, Gambit was not around. She had to know where he was. She could not figure out whether she wanted to thank him for another kind gesture or because she needed to be sure he was nearby.

All in all, the reason for her restlessness did not matter as long as she found him.

It still amazed Rogue that Gambit was still there with her. She could never picture him as someone who would settle down easily and put down roots. Rogue had always felt the same way: an eternal runaway. In spite of all that, now she felt as if she could stay there, on that beach, for as long as it took. She stopped fighting against the fact that she liked it there. Liked her new life. No powers, no one looking daggers at her, picking on her clothes, no exhausting training sessions, no nagging her.

Who knows, nature and lack of obligations had calmed her down as well as the Cajun. Rogue remembered reading somewhere about the benefits of staying away from technology and the daily grind for a while. Gambit was probably having the same reaction as her, after all, they were enormously alike in certain aspects.

The front door was ajar, so Rogue would start her search there. And there Gambit was having a swim in the sea.

Rogue stood at the door, leaned on the jamb and watched him at a distance. It was not as if he did not do the same. Rogue knew it well, she could feel his gaze weighing on her back, neck, legs, all over her body. Gambit not even bothered to conceal. He knew how to get under her skin like no one else, specially like that.

Rogue frequently caught him ogling her with an unapologetic smirk on his lips and his eyes emanating lewdness as if that were ordinary behavior. Perhaps, to him it was. However, to her it was not natural at all; she did not appreciate being the target of that look.

She tried snapping back, cursing, frowning when she caught him leering at her, but none of that seemed to work. Gambit blinked at her as if inviting her to something else as his smirk increased in size; or he stood there like a deadpan as if innocent of any accusation.

At some point, Gambit, who had his back to the house, turned his face at the direction of the girl at the door.

He may have felt her watching him. He stopped for few seconds, maybe to be sure that it was him she was looking at. Rogue timidly waved at him and Gambit started walking back to the house.

He strolled at her direction, wearing only shorts, which were stuck to his thighs and to other places that Rogue tried hard not to look at as drops of salty water dripped from his hair and increasingly tanned body.

Few feet separated them when Rogue noticed Gambit smile in a way she had never seen before. It was not a scoundrel's smirk, no mockery, no slyness... it was a clear smile of satisfaction. And when those eyes made contact with hers, it was as if she had left her body and started watching the scene unfold through someone else's eyes.

He was getting to her in a way that escaped her understanding. It happened even when she fought against it. And the more often. There was no way of controlling it. Still, it was nothing like the lack of control over her powers; it only happened when he was around. And, as opposed to her mutation, she liked it and longed for more; it felt good on the inside, in spite of leaving her bewildered.

If Rogue could see the dumb look on her face as she watched Remy walk up to her, she would have definitely kicked herself. She could never deny the obvious physical attributes of the young Cajun; moreover, it was not as if she had not noticed before. Even when they were still enemies, as much as she did not admit it to herself. Not even when Kitty teased her.

The truth was that, at first glance, Gambit seemed to be conventionally handsome; however, his looks quickly melted into something else. There was something about him, a certain _je ne sais quoi_ that made him irresistible. He just oozed mystery without even trying. Not to mention his charm, something that would never die. All she had to do was look. And Rogue looked. And she was looking at that exact moment.

Every time she looked at him, she took notice of something new. There was something else behind that handsome face and those fiery eyes that now were staring straight at her.

Gambit was few steps away from Rogue and that smile would not leave his face. He loved to see her watching him. It meant she also felt something for him. Even if it were nothing more than physical attraction, it felt good to know that he had an effect on her besides obvious annoyance. Gambit liked to think that was the source of her irritation. After all, the line that separated love and hate had always been thin to his eyes. He felt like Petruchio trying to tame the shrew Katherina.

Then, his smile gave place to a delightful chuckle when he got to the house door. Rogue blinked repeatedly without understanding the reason for his howling.

"If you could see your face now" he said, his words blending into laughter.

His mockery tone caused all the confidence Rogue had drop below zero. But she would not let him have the satisfaction. In a proud posture, she raised her chin defiantly, and stood up to him. "What's wrong with mah face?"

"Your face..." he let his voice die and, in the meanwhile, raised a hand to touch her cheek. Rogue held the impulse to back off in check at the last minute. When his wet fingers touched her face in a caress, Rogue unintentionally let her guard down. "Your face" he repeated and made another pause; he wetted his lips "is gorgeous" without her realizing, he had drastically shortened the distance between their bodies and she had done the same.

Rogue bravely struggled not to simply close her eyes and give in to the sensation of that simple touch. No, simple was not the right word for it. That gentle gesture meant more to her than anyone could ever imagine; it did not matter what his intensions really were.

Gambit spoke again, abruptly bringing her back to reality. His voice was even hoarser because of the sea's salty water. "Your face shows how bad you want me."

For a second or two, Rogue did not react, still too caught up in his charm. Then, her first reaction was anger, which she showed by violently pushing his hand away.

"What is it den?" he questioned with a half-smile. "You're here to make sure I didn't run away?"

Her defenses were promptly up again. She had learned from experience that snapping back was not worth the effort, therefore, the most viable solution was to play along. If she had lost her confidence seconds earlier, now she lived up to her full potential. Her body expression changed completely.

"No, sugah" she said, dropping her voice to little more than a whisper, at the same time, placing the palm of her open hand on his bare chest. She let it rest there for some instants, leading him to make all kinds of assumptions before she used it to push him away, however, not without feeling the throbbing of his heart. She prayed that he did not notice that hers was beating at the same rhythm.

"Ah figured you could use a cold shower" she continued, her voice faltered a little until it stabilized in a sarcastic tone that undoubtedly resembled his. "Sleeping next to me must stir you up so much you're about to lose your mind."

Gambit grinned openly revealing a perfect set of white teeth and giving an interesting shape to his cheeks. His eyes, always so hard to read, this time made his interest very obvious. He was not going to pretend he did not like it. " _Vrai_. But it's not'ing compared to what I do to you, _chérie_ " his last word fell from his mouth like honey, at the same time he brought his body against hers and slightly pushed her up against the wall.

His move was so swift and unexpected that there was no way Rogue could have predicted it. Suddenly it got hard to breathe. He felt so hot from the sun that she could feel the heat of his body going through her tank top and invading her body. Drops dripped from his hair onto her face.

"Don't lie, Roguey" he said, his voice dropping a few octaves. His hands rested on her hips. "I know you're attracted to me. You want me so bad dat being dis close is unbearable to you."

"How many times do Ah have to repeat" she said between teeth, breathing even harder than before. She removed his hands from her body. "arrogant Cajuns ain't mah type" the conviction in her voice surprised even herself, although it did not take the wanted effect.

Gambit frowned at her remark. It was the reaction she least expected from him. He was not the kind of guy who would be offended by any reason. Maybe she had been even more convincing than she would have liked.

She saw that scoundrel smirk vanish from his face as his lips turned into a thin line, his jawline stiffed and his features hardened. "Skinny river rats are not my type either" he sort of spat the words out and stepped in, wetting the floor on the way.

Rogue distastefully repeated his last words in a stutter. "Ah'm gonna show him who the skinny river rat is" she told herself. "This doesn't end here."

In her head, it made utter sense, she was going to show him who he was messing with. She began to devise a plan right away. All she had to do was ignore that tiny voice telling her that it had nothing to do with revenge.

 **xXxXx**

 **Glossary:**

 _Vrai –_ True

* * *

 **A/N:** If you liked the chapter, please leave a comment below. Otherwise, I won't know whether I should continue this or not.


	13. Away

**xXxXx**

" **D** at river rat..." he started, thinking, wanting his words to be bitter. He failed.

Remy was not truly mad at Rogue's last remark, he just needed time, on the contrary, he would run the risk of losing in his own game.

After their so-called argument, Gambit stormed off through the backdoor, still dripping, not sure where to go. He walked barefoot along the dirt path. He halted by the riverside, few minutes later.

Gambit, occasionally and disguisedly, would look over his shoulders to make sure Rogue was not following him, until he decided it was safe to stop. He burst into laughter. He hoped his abrupt exit would throw Rogue off balance. If he had gone on with his teasing, as he normally would, the outcome, without a doubt, would have been different. But no one could accuse Remy LeBeau of being predictable. He would have loved to see how far she was willing to go. After all, he would be dead if he said the _fille_ did not have potential.

Gambit smiled broadly, genuinely. Looking at it from a different angle, it had been the first time he had gotten a reaction out of that girl that had not ended with her running and hiding. She played his game terrifically. Gambit chuckled at the irony of having their roles switched.

After some time had gone by, Gambit resolved to go back to the house, wondering if things would turn out the way he wanted, that is, with the first card laid on the table; nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.

* * *

Gambit was near the house when he heard Rogue's voice calling his name. At first, he thought he was imagining it, uttering his desires. However, after hearing her voice again, he was convinced that it was really Rogue calling him in an oddly sweet voice. It made him adopt a more cautious and rigorous posture; nonetheless, he could not stop his steps from speeding up.

It was more than he had hoped for.

"Remy, sugah" she said sweetly when she saw his drawing near. "What took you so long?" she said, although what she really thought was: _perfect timing_ , smiling on the inside.

Gambit stopped short and held his breath. The image he saw did not even come close to what he was expecting to find – and Gambit had high expectations –, at least not in real life, even with his little game shaping up, perhaps in a daydream.

Rogue stood framed in the doorway of the porch. Her arms raised above her head, leaning on both sides of the doorjamb. A huge smile on her face. Sweet and sexy. She was wearing nothing more than her usual tank top along with something that looked like a bikini bottom (which Gambit had perspicaciously noticed Rogue had been wearing underneath her shorts). Both pieces were wet. The tank top was white and thin, which helped to endure the heat, therefore, it was almost completely transparent; the bottom also left little to imagination.

The sunlight on Rogue's back shaded and shaped her beautiful silhouette. That girl did not resemble at all the dark clad and full dark makeup Rogue that everyone knew. She had all boldness and sassiness expected from a Southern Bellthat Gambit judged her to be. He relished as he realized that he may have been the first to unravel that different side of her.

Gambit expected _something;_ however, nothing like _that_ image. He would have to admit that few times before had he been caught off guard like that. Rogue noticed it and smiled internally. It was going according to her plan, she thought, all she needed to do then was get on with it.

"Ah went for a swim" she said "but forgot mah towel. Silly me! Can you pick it up for me? Ah don't wanna go in and wet the floor" weak argument, she knew; Gambit had wetted the floor earlier. He, however, did not seem to realize it. Rogue thought she was in luck, which made her more confident to follow with her plan.

Gambit was not sure he had heard everything she said as he was too dumbfounded staring at her perfect hourglass body. He thought he had heard enough. "O'course, _chère_."

He got her towel in the room and went back instants later. When he was two steps away from her, he stopped. "You should get rid of dose wet clothes first... _chérie"_ he emphasized his last word unnecessarily. And, as he spoke, his lopsided smile grew until it became a full smirk of satisfaction.

Rogue hesitated for a moment, hoping that her nervousness did not shine through on her face. If it was war he wanted, war he was going to have. She would not back away. If that arrogant Cajunthought she did not have the guts, he was dead wrong. When _the_ Rogue played, she played for keeps.

She gave an enigmatic smile and turned her back to him. In deliberate slow and smooth moves, Rogue grabbed the bottom of her wet tank top and began to lift it up. Once or twice she turned her face to check on Gambit's reaction. He was a good player; his face did not show anything. Nonetheless, he swallowed in a dry throat and wetted his lips without her noticing.

When she finished stripping off, Rogue tossed her tank top at him, over her shoulders, with her arms now covering her breasts. Gambit did not even bother to grab it, simply let it fall to the ground close to his feet.

He stepped over the clothes lying on the floor and laid the towel on Rogue's shoulders. He let his hands rest there way longer than needed. He brought his face near hers and brushed his lips against her ear. Rogue trembled from head to toe. "You're one point ahead" he whispered dramatically before gently squeezing her shoulders and stepping away.

* * *

And so begun a war that would last the next days and keep them busy and their thoughts away from real problems. A war in which anything could go, they used all their weapons to taunt each other.

The first time, Rogue's heart almost ran up her throat. But she carried it off, regardless. Now she had to move on with her playing, hang tough on it. Until she won, because she was going to win, she was sure of that.

That is, until Gambit came on strong. Rogue found it a low blow when Gambit stepped out of the bathroom holding the towel loosely against a precisely strategic spot. But the deadly blow was yet to come. Unexpectedly – and not deliberately as he would later claim, – the towel fell down.

At that moment, Rogue was walking opposite him. Even though she expected something to happen, she was not prepared for that. Rogue turned around hastily, tripped onto the sofa and, barely did not fall flat on the floor. She rushed through the backdoor soundlessly as she felt her cheeks burn. She could hear his mocking chuckles fading away as she walked away from him... away from humiliation.

Days went by and Gambit would stretch close to her or deliberately reach for something that was always next to her. Rogue let it slide. Although he started to notice how she would shake her feet frenetically every time he successfully got under her skin. Rogue would not let it lie as she swaggered around the house in her panties or wrapped in a towel.

They played with similar techniques but with different rules. Gambit was always invading Rogue's personal space, trying to get to her; whereas Rogue would resort to visual tricks, without ever touching him or letting herself be touched by him.

One more reason for her being so stunned and speechless after she fell out of a tree, sprained her ankle, and saw herself being carried to the house.

Ignoring her protesting, Gambit scooped her up, nuptial style, with his right arm under the joints of her knees and his left arm supporting her back, forcing her to wrap her arms around his neck.

Gambit could have offered his shoulder for her to lean on, she thought, but... "You wouldn't waste the chance, would you, Cajun?"

" _Non"_ he replied, smiling a little, and changed the subject: "Luckily the ground is the farthest you can go" he bantered. She rolled her eyes, embarrassed more than anything. "I hate to say this to you of all people, _chère_ , but I told you dat climbing that tree was a bad idea. De branches wouldn't hold" at that point he had laid her down on the bed. "Luckily you hadn't gone up too far."

Rogue crossed her arms and gave him the eye as if he had been to blame for her falling down. On second thought, he totally had. "Wait a second, _you_ challenged me to climb up that tree."

" _Non_ ," he protested, _offended._ "I said you _couldn't_ climb up dat tree. Look at that, I was right" he could not help it, teasing her was way too fun.

Rogue felt her blood go up to her face. She looked away, kind of pouting. Gambit chuckled at her childlike reaction. The way she thrusted her lips out was so feminine that Gambit was taken by a sudden and nearly uncontrollable desire to taste her lips again, just to be sure that they were as sweet as he remembered. He blocked out the thought in time, though.

"Anyt'ing else hurting besides your ankle?" she shook her head, without turning to him. Gambit sat down near her feet. "Which one's hurting? Dis one?" he asked as he touched her left foot and lifted it up to examine it.

Rogue shivered when she felt his hands so unexpectedly. Not only because of the pain. Gambit began to move her foot in slow circles. "Yeah, that one but... you don't..." she started to say but her words died out.

Rogue did not want to yell at Gambit since she knew that he was only trying to do something nice for her. She knew – just knew – that time was not teasing.

"Remy, you don't really need to bother" she said, self-consciously.

"Easy" said Gambit, without looking at her. "I know what I'm doing."

Rogue shut up and let him carry on. Gambit massaged the injured spot so delicately that she found herself staring at him with surprised and amazed eyes. "Where'd you learn to do this?"

Remy cast a glance at her without ever losing focus on what he was doing. Gambit smiled. " _C'est un secret_. If I spill the beans" he looked up at her "it loses its charm, don't you think?" Rogue smiled back. "Feeling better?"

"It almost doesn't hurt anymore" she replied, sweetly.

"Still needs some ice, dough, otherwise it'll swell" he went to the kitchen and came back with a bag of ice. When he laid it on her foot, their fingers brushed. Rogue pulled her hand away and bended her leg so she could hold the bag of ice in place. "You better not walk for the next hours" he said as he said down next to her.

"Thanks" she said under her breath.

" _De rien_ " he replied sincerely.

Rogue stared down at her ankle but did not stop stealing glances at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Truce?" she suggested as she turned her face to him.

"You're giving up, throwing in the towel?"

"No" she cut him off short, pretending that was not the case exactly. "Ah just think we better end this ridiculous quarrel cause nothing will come out of it" she explained, faking indifference. She struggled to get a grip on herself and picked her words very carefully when he was close to her like that.

Nonetheless, Gambit knew it was just a lie. She needed to stop before it became too dangerous. Although neither of them realized (or was willing to admit) that it had been too late even before it started.

Gambit comfortably leaned on the headboard and began playing with a pack of cards, which Rogue had no idea where it had come from "Yeah, you're right. It was a tie, dough" he said in a drawl.

Rogue fixed him with a bewildered look. He was keeping track? "You were keeping track?"

Gambit shrugged; his fingers busy as they turned the cards around themselves. "Sure, why not?" he asked rhetorically, his voice got a comedic like tone. "Gotta give it to you, _chère,_ you were a worthy contender. _Une belle femme_ like you, wit' attributes like yours, would win dat scout-boy over easy."

Rogue turned her face to Remy, blinking in surprise. Fortunately to her she did not find his eyes; too occupied with the movements of his hands as they were. She was starting to pick on a pattern: the playing cards would only appear in his hands when it got hard to fake, when the stakes got higher.

The surprise of hearing Scott's name hit Rogue hard. She had not thought of him in a long time. The X-Men yes, but as a team, not Scott in particular.

She could not even remember the reason for her attraction for Cyclopes, as if those feelings belonged in a remote past. And, still, few weeks earlier, Rogue was moping around, feeling sorry for herself for having such a treacherous fate that would not even let her have the chance to compete for the guy she liked.

Thinking back, it seemed such a childish feeling. Perhaps the source of her feelings for Scott was nothing more than competition with Jean, always so perfect; or perhaps because he was one of the few guys, and X-Man, who was kind to her back then, during the few weeks Rogue spent with the Brotherhood.

But nothing, nothing at all compared to how Gambit – Remy – made her feel.

"I'll tell you dis much" he suddenly spoke again. Rogue almost jumped out of her skin as she was so abruptly pulled away from her daydreaming "use de towel trick on One-eyed and if he doesn't fall hard for you..."

"Ah wouldn't do that" she said, dazed, and more and more confused about his statements, which, once again, were uncalled for. He was testing her, wanting to know her answer, whereas, as usual, his face would not show anything. It was all so infuriating.

"Cause he's crazy about dat redhead" he continued as he turned to look at her with the most apathetic face she had ever seen him wear "and she is crazy about him."

"They're lucky" said Rogue, with a blank look on her face, suddenly too weary to keep on fighting.

"You really think so?" he asked; his face finally expressed some sort of reaction. At that rate, eager to know her answer. He put his cards away and stared at the girl beside him.

She gave a half-laugh. "Liking someone is one thing... that person liking you back, that's a different story."

"You're wrong" he said, dryly; his face got harder. "Dat's easy. Loving... is hard."

She turned to face him, her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "You..." she started to say, however, hesitated for too long.

Her speechlessness made him understand. "If I've ever loved? If I've ever been in love with someone?" he asked, filling her unspoken question in " _Non"_ he replied, suddenly angry. "Of course not" he got to his feet as he put an end to the conversion.

That night, Gambit would not sleep in the bed.

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**

 **Glossary:**

 _Fille –_ Girl

 _C'est un secret –_ It's a secret

 _De rien –_ You're welcome

 _Une belle femme –_ A pretty girl

* * *

 **A/N:** It took me a while to finish this because I admit I've been a little discouraged by the lack of feedback. All in all, I hope you liked the chapter and I really appreciate the reviews I receive and people taking their time to write them. If you feel like telling me what you thought of this chapter and the story overall, it would make my day. Till next time!


	14. Eyes screaming to be heard

**A/N:** Thanks for the feedback, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

 **xXxXx**

 **R** eturning from two long hours of Danger Room training under The Wolverine's supervision, Cyclops turned at the corner of the corridor that led to the kitchen, where he hoped to satisfy his hunger with a huge sandwich, when he passed by Kitty and Kurt. He stopped short and almost regretted it upon realizing his starving would be prolonged a little while.

The pair, as cautiously as their curiosity allowed, was trying to peek into Xavier's office through a small door opening, squatting, one above the other.

Scott straightened his glasses, put a fist over his mouth and cleared his throat in hopes that the two eavesdroppers would notice him standing there. As it failed: "Spying, huh?" he said; though, his increasing curiosity prevented his voice from rising up and giving away their positions.

"Shhhh" made Kitty and Kurt in unison, although they did not turn their heads nor pay any kind of attention to whatever Scott was saying.

Scott tried to let it go but could not resist. Trying to act natural, he stepped closer and looked inside the office, above the Elf's blue head. "Who's that?" he questioned, as he did not recognize the man with whom Xavier was speaking so gravely. In red, Cyclops watched them, who were then silent.

"We think it's Gambit's dad" Kitty replied quietly.

"Why are you spying on them?" asked Scott as he straighten up, pretending to be uninterested. As he went ignore, Scott bent over to peek inside the office.

"We're not" it was Kurt's turn to speak. He did not even take his eyes off the small crack to validate his lie.

"Of course we're not" stated Kitty, outraged. "We just don't wanna be left out again" fed up with not being able to listen to a word of the conversation, she stepped away and leaned back against the wall, with her arms crossed over her chest, blew a strand of brown hair that had come loose from her ponytail and that now insistently fell over her right eye. "They never let us know anything" she said, disheartened.

The girl's accusatory tone of voice put Scott got into defensive mode. "I don't know much more than you do."

They all fell silent. Then Kurt, also feeling beaten, backed away from the door.

Inside, the two men resumed their conversation, just as cordially as before. The man with the long brown hair raised his hand to his forehead as if not believing his ears. Jean-Luc seemed to be deep in his thoughts. "Ya telling me dat my son has gotten into dis mess t' help a girl?" and the laughter in his voice was not completely overwhelmed by the gravity of the question at issue.

Xavier allowed himself a subtle smile at the lack of surprise in the man's voice. "I can see this doesn't come as a surprise to you, Mr. LeBeau."

He shook his head. "Dat's typical of Remy. I warned him, advised him. But dat boy's always had a romantic vein and an almost uncontrollable impulse t' save de damsel in distress."

"Your son seems to be a good boy" said Xavier, sincerely, going with his gut.

"He is. An' he also gets in over his head like no one else can."

Xavier decided against questioning the man the reasons for Gambit to have seemingly run away from home and gotten himself involved with Magneto when he was just a nineteen-year-old boy. It was not his place; the reason was not of his concern.

"How can you assure me he's alright?" questioned Jean-Luc after a brief pause. His fingers on his chin and his elbow on the chair's armrest, his tone of voice grave.

"I'm afraid I cannot at this moment, Mr. LeBeau. As far as we know, both are safe."

"Dat's no comfort for a father's heart."

"It never seems to be."

The men shook each other's hands politely and Jean-Luc saw himself out.

By that time, there was no one by the door, still Xavier looked at that direction and smiled.

* * *

Rogue opened her eyes all of a sudden and felt the blinding sunlight outside breaking through the window, hurting her eyes as her pupils painfully dilated.

Her heart was pounding for a reason she was trying to understand. She closed her eyes again in an attempt to escape the sunlight as she pressed her face into her pillow and tried to control her fast heartbeat. It did not take her long to realize that she was neither in her bedroom nor in her bed; although she had gotten used to that feeling some time ago.

Having her heartbeat and breathing normalized, Rogue recalled having a bad dream before she woke up. She could not remember what it was about, and was thankful for that. When the imagens of a dream came back to her it was to haunt her during the day. Perhaps those were a different kind of bad dream.

Now she woke up grateful as she realized that the recurring nightmares that haunt her up until weeks before, all day long at the Institute, in fact, belonged to others. The nightmares did not follow her there, not in that life.

Rogue slid her arm along the bed and, when all she found was the crumpled sheets, felt a pang of regret for being selfish. Not that she had a pleasant night's sleep but had sworn to herself she would stay up until Gambit returned. She had not seen him again since the previous night, after their odd conversation, and now she worried about where he could have gone (this time she did not even try to convince herself of the contrary). Her head was spinning around, trying to figure out the reason for his storming out.

"Goddaminit!" she spat out as she sat up on the bed, angry with herself for letting sleep get the better of her.

She then smiled at herself, amazed at the fact that she had gotten so used to Remy's presence when she woke up that not finding him in bed next to her felt out of place. A feeling that came to be in a couple of weeks. Still, it felt much longer than that. The hours seemed longer. She was still fighting against admitting that Remy provided a feeling of comfort and protection. Curious, as if her body knew that as long as he was near, nothing bad would happen to her. Once again, her thoughts turned to her being selfish for letting him go out like that. And now she was digressing. Damn it, she owed it to him.

Rogue stopped for a moment in order to think clearly. She respected Remy's will for isolation; although, as the hours went by, preoccupation came and would not cease growing. Decided it was time to go seek him out. Deep down, she feared that she had something to do with his disappearance and melancholic state. Rogue got up and went to look for him.

As if for instinct, she headed to the back – doubted he would be on the beach –, walked to the river, and found him not long afterwards.

Gambit was sitting by the river tossing little rocks in the water, disturbing its quietness. He was slouching and his head was slightly hung down; his left leg was bent at the knee and his left arm resting on it, his hand dropped; his other leg stretched out and also lifeless.

With his right hand he tossed the rocks in swift, fluid and precise movements, quite similar to the way he did with his cards. There, however, he lacked passion and motivation, there was nothing. His eyes – so unusual – followed the little rocks as they hit and bounce on the water, three, four times before going down. He had pouches under his eyes; looked years older.

It was not a bright day. The grey clouds gathering up above and the strong wind gave off signs that a storm was about to break. Cold to the point of making Rogue hug her own body. Gambit, on the other hand, seemed unmoved by the cold and the wind, even though the latter made his hair dangle in a way that it harshly hit his eyes, wide and motionless. He felt her coming near but showed no indication of it.

"Would you care for some company?" she asked with confidence and sass that were kept hidden for too long. Her voice did not give away her hesitation. Tentatively, she knelt next to him, her arms fell loose on her thighs. Gambit did not say a word, continued tossing the rocks robotically. "What's wrong?" she tried again.

When he noticed that she was drawing near, his first sentiment was anger. Could she not see he wished to be left alone? Suddenly, though, he could not blame her for trying to help him. She spoke so sweetly that sending her away seemed something impossible to do. After all, he would have done exactly the same for her.

The problem was that every single time someone approached him to offer help, he ended up being blamed for something. He loathed everyone's hypocrisy, telling him how important truth was when in reality most of them were not strong enough to handle it. And, at that point, Remy was not sure that Rogue would act in a different way. When you hit rock bottom, though, you feel there is no way of sinking deeper.

"It's April sixth" he said, at last, silently.

Rogue wrinkled her eyebrows; she did not have the faintest idea what that could possibly mean. She patiently waited for him to go on. Gambit laughed bitterly. Pathetic how he could not face her right now. Lying had always felt easier than telling the truth, more fitting to his nature.

"De day of my wedding" he finally had the guts to face her. Rolled his eyes at himself. "Or rather it would've been, if..." his voice trailed off; finishing his sentence would be redundant. Rogue sat down in front of him, to the left of his legs, unable to find her voice. He never ceased to surprise her. How many more secrets could one man – such a young man – be able to keep inside of him?

He continued. "I'd be walking down de aisle dis afternoon, if I hadn't left" he then looked into her eyes so intensely that Rogue's only reaction was to look away. It was just too painful to look inside those eyes and remain impotent. "Bella Donna is her name... de most beautiful little girl a street boy had ever seen. Braided blond hair, huge violet eyes and braces. Two children caught in the middle of a Romeo and Juliet type of story... one that promised a happy ending, but... but as de day of de wedding drew near... I... I just couldn't see it."

Rogue felt her heart ache and her eyes burn as Remy told her his whole story from when he was adopted and taken into the Thieves Guild when he was just a little boy. So many gaps in his past, felt so excruciatingly familiar. The pain hit close to home, the resentment, the not-knowing, the endless bitter taste of betrayal.

"I told my father dat I needed some time away" as he spoke, his voice grew weaker. Rogue was not sure she could understand what he was saying – murmuring. At the same time, the hard features on his face started to soften until they became the face of a lost boy. "He gave me a month. Hasn't heard from me in five" he made a fist with his right hand as if trying to transfer all his anger to that gesture. "It was de cowardest decision of my life."

Rogue opened her mouth, searching for the words but failed. The fear of not finding her own voice was also there for there was a lump in her throat. "You did what you thought was right" she said, stuttering a little. "That takes courage."

Gambit scoffed. He knew what she was trying to do. "I ran off, Rogue" he looked at her and that lifeless expression was back.

"You followed your heart."

"Maybe dat is my problem" he said, suddenly angry, those eyes blazing at her. "I listen to it more dan I should."

"I owe you mah life" she said in a whisper, more to herself than to him, as if realizing that for the first time. She wanted to run away but felt paralyzed.

"I don't mean… it has not'ing to do wit' me being here."

She seemingly disregarded his words and got to her feet. "You know what? Ah take it back. You were a coward. A fucking coward. If you really wanted to be married right now, you wouldn't've run off, you would've faced that situation instead, would've stood up to your dad and whoever you had to" it was not her place and Rogue did not understand the reason for her being so angry; she did not regret a word she was saying, though.

"It's way more complicated dan you can imagine" he said impassively, which made her angrier. She threw her arms up in the air. Rogue wanted him to get up and talk back. "Dere was too much at stake, Rogue."

She turned around to leave but changed her mind halfway through. "I don't get it. You there whining… moping around like that... that's not you. It's not who you really are, Remy. It doesn't suit you" she added before heading back to the house.

* * *

She had lost her appetite. She would always wake up starving; however, the _argument_ with Remy made her quite angry. For the first time ever she was pleased to see the dirty dishes from the night before. Any manual and robotic chore to keep her occupied. Rogue had a predilection for the punching bag hanging from the ceiling of the training room but was out of options there.

She was almost done when she felt Gambit drawing near from behind. Near enough to infuriate her. She turned around and found the Gambit she deemed as the real one. She could barely suppress a smile in time. "You're being inconvenient, Cajun" she said as seriously as the bravado let her. "What about us sharing the household chores?" Gambit smiled with the corner of his lips and reached out to touch her face. Rogue shoved his hand away with her own hand full of bubbles. "What you looking at? Like mah apron?" asked sarcastically.

Before she could react, Rogue found herself sandwiched against the sink as his arms strategically rested on the sink at each side of her body, not close enough to touch her, not far enough to let her escape. He felt his stomach dampen against the apron. Her body stiffened.

"Move that hand one more inch and Ah'll give you a black eye, Cajun."

He had gotten used to her threats, and savored them. "Why you so scared when I come close?"

"Not scared… annoyed."

Gambit deliberately brought his face close to hers, and Rogue automatically jerked away from him. "Or mabbe you don't know de difference between anger... and attraction."

She made a clumsy attempt to break away by hitting him but Gambit blocked her blow by holding her hands, taking advantage of the situation to press his body on hers. "You right."

"About what?" she swallowed in a dry throat. Whether due to the situation or the gravity in his voice she did not know.

"Me being a coward. I ran off when I should've stayed an' faced de situation like a grown-up" he made a pause. " _Dat_ I regret, not being here" he murmured. "Ev'ry day I'm more convinced dat this was one of de few times I made de right call."

"If you expect me to thank you..." she started saying, struggling to regain her defenses. "Ah, Ah already done that" concluded, felling kind of stupid.

He smiled, a real smile. "I know" eyeing her face. Once again, his posture shifted, and he stepped back. "You wetting de floor _again_."

His words echoed _brat._ Ah, she hated him right now.

Few steps later, Gambit felt the damp sponge hit him right under the neck in a muffled sound. He turned around and saw Rogue with her arms crossed in a challenging manner and insolent smile of someone who is on top.

He smirked, amused, and got out. Gambit won often because he was a terrific strategist. "You won't see it coming, _chère_. You won't see it coming" he murmured to himself a second time.

And the game was on again...

 **XxXxX**

 **A/N:** Yes, this is not Jean-Luc from the cartoon but this story took a different turn anyway, so I thought this version of him fits the story better.


	15. Always close

**A/N:** It took me almost a month to finish this chapter but since it's longer than usual I hope it's worth the wait =D

 **xXxXx**

 **L** ying on the couch, head rested on the cushion, one leg crossed over the other, Rogue peeped out, above her book, as Gambit improvised a place to exercise. She dissimulated, distractedly curling strands of white hair around her index finger.

Once again, Rogue flashed Gambit a look. This time to make sure that he had not noticed her interested eyes or at least pretended not to. Truth was he had. In between sit-ups, Remy discreetly watched the way her lips curved almost imperceptibly when she succeeded in focusing and read something she found funny. He observed and memorized her every gesture, every motion, every curve of her face and body. It was as though the risks never ceased to rise, and at an increasingly scaring and vertiginous speed. Rogue wondered how she could get him out of her mind when they spent most of the day together.

Among other things, Rogue constantly felt at a disadvantage. Gambit knew much more about her than the other way round. Not that she thought that a few pieces of information read on a file kept by a lunatic would make any real difference, but because of how unlikely it would be for Gambit to let her know what was going through his mind. Most of the time, Rogue was incapable of distinguishing whether he was being serious or mocking. And even though their time together was short, he was probably the person who knew her best.

There, Rogue neither needed nor could conceal behind a tough gothic façade and imperturbable attitude. For God's sake, they slept in the same bed, it was not like their skin did not brush once in a while. Her powers could return at any moment and he was not afraid.

Gambit – Remy – was a puzzle. When Rogue figured she was starting to unravel him, he would amaze her again. She felt there was still so much to learn about him – had not yet scratched the surface. And what did she really know about Gambit? That he was the most arrogant, showoff, conceited, irritating, mischievous guy she had ever met as much as he was charming, fun, attractive, gentle, mysterious, had a beautiful smile that could throw her off balance no matter how mad at him she was... and eyes... eyes that stared at her and burned.

Once again her eyes were stuck on his every move. It took her a long time to come around and look away. Felt her cheeks burn as if she were caught in the act. Rogue, however, knew she should not be ashamed, for she was aware that Gambit was also to blame for devouring her with his eyes, in fact in the same opportunities as she did. Still, those confusing thoughts made her feel guilty, in a way.

She wondered how she could give so much attention to teenager's feelings – feelings she was not even sure were even real; perhaps it was only hormones reacting to certain situations and stimuli – meanwhile the fate of the only people she cared about was unclear.

It was not only the impotence of not being able to be part of the fate she helped to put at risk – even though indirectly –, but also because she had no idea what this fate would be.

To know that her friends, her only family, would risk their lives to fix a mistake that she thought to be hers was killing her inside. In her thoughts, distorted by guilt, Apocalypse's return was only possible because of her weakness and vulnerability, because she had been an easily manipulated tool.

After quiet moments with Remy, she felt like a sinner. Sometimes, she thought she did not deserve it. She should be in Bayville fighting along with the others and not enjoying vacation on the beach.

At the same time, she thought she would go crazy if not for Remy's consoling words. And the _worst_ part was that he always made the pain diminish; and even though she was certain that the pain would never disappear completely, that was already too much to ask for. She preferred it that way. Had to remember she was to blame as well... if not the only one who should be blamed.

Once again Rogue put herself in misery. Seemed to be constantly oscillating between moments of serenity and others of pure angst, as if trapped in a damn roller coaster, in an endless ride.

She then put her book down. Perhaps it was for the better; in focusing on her preoccupations she could see the bigger picture more clearly. It would spare her unpleasant surprises. Sadly, away from it all, Rogue did not have enough information to know for sure what was happening back in Bayville. She felt selfish for putting her indecision regarding Remy as a priority. There was no way of knowing what plans Apocalypse was putting into motion or whether it was too soon to know. And although it seemed that her stay with Remy was long, actually it had barely been three weeks. If she could have some news of Bayville, any news, she knew her afflicted heart would be comforted.

Rogue got to her feet and came close to Remy. He, in turn, had just finished a series of exercise and walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. Pretended not to notice her afflicted semblance, therefore, he did not go to her. If Rogue needed help, she would come to him.

With her arms crossed over her chest, in an awkward self-protection posture, she called him with a weak, dying voice.

" _Oui_?" he said as he turned around to face her.

"What do you think is happening in Bayville right now?"

He sighed. "I don't know, Rogue" he replied sincerely after pondering for a second or two. "Here's what we can do: I'll go to de city earlier… tomorrow" they had brought with them enough supplies for three weeks, which lasted longer than planned; therefore, Remy had been postponing going to the city until it was indispensable. Now it was. "What do you t'ink?" he asked softly as if he really sought her approval.

She nodded, smiling a little. It was exactly what she wanted to hear. "You're going alone?" she ventured to ask, in a tone that resembled a statement rather than an actual question.

"It's de deal. You better stay. Dat's what Xavier told us to do, remember? We don't even know why or who we're hiding from 'cause we're in de dark about Apocalypse's intentions. We don't know how far his reach goes. Better safe than sorry, huh?"

She squinted at him. "Responsibility don't suit you, Cajun."

"One of us has to be responsible."

"What does that mean?" she questioned, offended; in the meantime, he turned his back to her, already making arrangements to leave. "Ah'm going!"

Remy halted, turned around to her and said in a simple and delightful teasing tone: "See, dat's why you ain't going" and before Rogue had the chance to answer back, Remy adopted a more serious tone. "Rogue... I can go faster by myself. I know where t' go... I know how to become invisible. I don't wanna be worrying abou' you... abou' your safety. It'd only slow us down. You'll be safer staying put" she breathed in, opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off. "Dis time only, do as I ask an' stay here. "

She crossed her arms, sulky; knew she had lost. "Ok" she grumbled.

"Rogue..." he said very slowly, emphasizing the word in a tone that meant he was unconvinced.

She shot him an offended look. "Already told ya Ah'll stay. Jeez!" yet, as soon as Remy turned around, her expression shifted; she would not admit to being caught in the act twice, though.

* * *

That beach had never felt so lonely. Not even when Rogue searched to be alone, in a time when she thought that avoiding Gambit would make for a less troubled interaction; when she believed it would be easier to deal with the confusion she felt on her own. And, once again, just like in many other recent occasions, she was wrong.

For a moment, Rogue pondered if she had ever felt so alone, and laughed bitterly right afterwards, scoffing at herself. What a ridiculous thought. Undoubtedly she had had much worse moments than that. The people around her had never made her feel any better; in fact, seeing how everyone went on with their lives while she would never be able to take the next step made her feel even more miserable.

Who would ever want a girl who could not be touched? She remembered when Remy kissed her and how she felt butterflies in her stomach. Tried to push away that thought right away as fast as possible. She was being silly. That kiss had not meant anything; they had agreed on it. When her powers came back, everything would be back to the way it was. She would forever be The Rogue. Lonely for the rest of her long and miserable life. If she did not die prematurely, that was. An X-Man's life span must not be that long.

Rogue turned her eyes to the shore. The sun was starting to bother her, giving her a headache, even as she tried to cover herself under a coconut tree's shadow.

Was starting to worry. Gambit had been gone for over six hours. Maybe something happened? She shook her head in order to push the thought away. With the sun blurring her vision, she could not even think straight. Decided to step inside.

Bending over the sink, Rogue wetted her face and neck, and already started to feel better. Sat down on the couch in a way that she would not be completely comfortable, since her eyes felt heavy and she did not want run the risk of falling asleep. One hour later and that proved to be inevitable. She slept a light dreamless sleep.

Having lost track of time, she woke to Gambit's hoarse voice. He was looking down at her with a subtle smile. "An' I here thinking you be missing me..." he said as he set the groceries down on the kitchen countertop.

She smiled too, not full awake. When she came around, got up quickly. "You find something?" she asked, eager for news, although Gambit's exhausted physiognomy did not escape her attention.

Before answering, he took off his wet tank top and cap, ran his fingers through his soaked hair, brushing a strand off his eyes. Rogue touched his hot shoulder despite herself; realizing what she had done after the fact. "You okay?"

He nodded affirmatively, staring deeply at her. Rogue then rushed and brought him a glass of water, which was just an excuse to avoid his eyes. Gambit sipped, out of politeness since he was not thirsty; had drunk during his footslog, all he needed now was to rest.

He sprawled on the sofa, and Rogue sat down beside him. Her body exteriorizing her anxiety for news, any news. It was taking him too long to tell her what he had found out. It might not be a good sign. It might not.

Gambit swallowed dryly and spoke at last. "I got in touch wit' my cousin – de one who said would keep us up to date. He's been in Bayville since when we last spoke. And... well, everything seems t' be normal. De X-Mansion is still in its place. Dere's been a lot of agitation in de surroundings, but not'ing really outta de ordinary, not'ing dat could raise suspicious. He's also been trying to learn more about Apocalypse. Seems he built a pyramid, and is secluded inside it ever since. De X-Men go there often but dere's been efforts to keep de press away. De surroundings are swarming with militaries" Gambit paused. He had been in the know about the pyramid since his last conversation with Émile, right before Rogue and he left for the house on the beach. Back then he thought Rogue did not need to know. However, since nothing else happened, he could tell her.

"You mean Apocalypse didn't, didn't try anything?"

Gambit shook his head.

Suddenly, Rogue's face became dark. He noticed it. "Must be getting ready for an attack."

"Dere's no way of knowing dat" he said, although he thought Rogue was right. Apocalypse would not have risen for nothing. Surely had cards up his sleeve. Nonetheless, Gambit would not tell her that. She needed to keep calm and be patient. So did he.

"My cousin also said" he continued "dat Magneto attacked Apocalypse and ended up wounded badly. Looked as if he evaporated in de air. De whole country saw it happen, _chère_. Dat's when dey started trying to move de cameras away at all costs. Don't wanna cause hysteria."

"What became of Magneto?" she asked. Not that she cared the least, just wanted to know all the details, in case it happened again.

"At first dey t'ought de old prick was done for, but then Xavier found him almost dead, miles away from where de incident happened" in a side thought, Gambit reveled in the possibility of getting rid of Magneto before expected.

"Your cousin a super thief like you?" she asked, allowing herself a moment of levity before trying to put all the pieces together with the information Gambit gave her.

"In a way" he replied with a smile. "Émile's de gang's nerd" added jokingly before turning to the important matter again. "De interesting bit is dat Apocalypse seemed t' get weaker after de confrontation. Hasn't showed his ugly mug ever since. Dat was over a week ago, _chère_. Dat's great, _n'est pas_?"

She nodded her head affirmatively. "Ah guess" it was the best scenario she could hope for in a bad situation.

"De X-Men will handle whatever happens" he reaffirmed "If Apocalypse hadn't already crawled back into his filthy tomb, that is. An attack seems less an' less likely as time goes by."

She knew what he was trying to do. Nonetheless, taking all possibilities into account, bad ones included, would prevent unpleasant surprises. "He must be recharging his batteries in the meanwhile."

"Or he's getting weaker?" he suggested.

One of the corners of her mouth curved slightly. "Since when you're the optimistic type, Gambit?"

"I ain't. I jus' happen to be right all de time."

Rogue smiled. She had to admit her anguish diminished.

She was not convinced, for she knew it was not what Gambit really thought. Oddly, she did not feel naïve or betrayed, on the contrary, she appreciated his intentions. It made her believe that Remy cared about her enough to tell her that everything would be all right, without a second thought as to what was coming next, as though even if things took a turn for the worse, he would still be there with her.

That thought scared and petrified her. Did she really start to trust him that much, in such a short period of time? Rogue did not have the time to ponder over her questioning since she was unceremoniously interrupted when Gambit drew near to her almost to the point of their noses touching.

"You trust your X-Men?" with her brows wrinkled she answered with a slight nod of her head. "Den put an end to your worries. I understand you're concerned about your friends, I bet dey're dying to know if you're ok, too. But worrying all de time is only doing you harm. Promise me you'll try to relax a bit?" he asked as he softly tuck some strands of her hair behind her ear, brushing his fingers on her cheek in the process.

"I promise" she replied resolutely.

"Den I know something dat can cheer you up" he said, with his most charming smile.

* * *

As if in a game of cat and mouse, they disagreed on several aspects. Was it out of pride, stubbornness or simply because they considered seeing eye to eye often would mean to admit to having a lot in common. However, as they swam in the river, not for a second did it run through their minds to deny the contentment of their being there. For it brought back delightful memories of a childhood that had been long gone. Neither said it out loud, but it was written all over their faces that they felt as if they had gone back to the innocence of childhood. And when a great deal of it had been prematurely stripped out of their lives, it meant even more.

They laughed. Rogue hasn't laughed like that ever since she was a little girl. Unlike Gambit, who had had many moments like that, only with another girl. Blonde, no white streaks. Violet eyes; rare as her personality.

Remy, however, did not have to make comparisons to know that he tended toward those innocent green eyes, clear as untouched water.

He clearly loved all the excitement and adrenaline of his escapes with Bella Donna. And that was why he felt odd for reveling in the lightness of that moment with Rogue. In fact, he never compared them consciously; all he had was a notion of different feelings in situations that resembled each other. Bella Donna did not cross his mind frequently, while Rogue was close to his eyes, to his sense of smell... to his touch.

Gambit was still amazed at seeing how comfortable she felt with him now, for less than a month before they had been fighting on opposite sides.

In the midst of their playing around, Rogue found herself suddenly cornered between the end point of the river and Gambit, whose arms were blocking her escape.

They halted. Eyes fixed but lost.

Gambit felt he was being drawn into getting close to her more and more. It was not calculated as it normally were. No games, no manipulations. He gently caressed her face.

Rogue saw what was coming because the touch of his hand not only made her aware but also alert; still, she remained motionless, thinking she would not have the strength to stop it.

At the last minute, though, Remy lost his courage. Smirked and drew back a little.

Rogue inhaled forcedly. Thought if they kissed again, she would not be able to live without it ever again.

"You know" he said with his charming smile "when we get back to de real world, I'm gonna take you out on a date."

"And if Ah say no?"

He smirked, lewd and arrogant. "We both know dat ain't happening, _chère_."

She grinned and swam away to the other side.

* * *

It was a rainy night. Not by chance, Storm walked silently along the long corridors at the mansion. She felt exhausted and apprehensive. The previous weeks had taken quite a toll on all of them; nonetheless, it was even harder on Logan, who still blamed himself for not being able to save Rogue.

Hours earlier, Storm had a word with him that did not go as planned. The Canadian stormed off aimlessly, and drove off, tires squealing.

Ororo feared that Logan would do something he could regret later on, anything that could jeopardy his own and the others' safety.

It was still early but Ororo could not rest. Heading to her bedroom she heard a resonant "eureka" coming from behind the ajar door of Hank McCoy's lab. The Beast left his lab, and walked past Storm as if he had failed to see her. Turned around when he heard a voice calling him.

"My apologies, my dear, I didn't see you" the excitement in his voice was oddly comforting. His blue eyes, blue as his fur, shone behind his tiny round glasses. "I have good news."

Storm promptly rushed to gather every one up.

Five minutes later, the meeting room was full. Initially, only the older ones would be present, but no one could stop Scott, Jean, Kurt and Kitty from taking part. Or even Magneto, who even weak and recuperating, left his resting to take part in the meeting. He wanted to be privy to everything that was happening, now that he was once again by Xavier's side.

Only Wolverine was absent. Storm stared at his empty chair and felt her heart ache.

"Did you find an answer on how defeat Apocalypse, doctor?" asked Magneto as he slowly sat down; tried his best not to show that he still felt excruciating pains.

"Apocalypse cannot be defeated in the real sense of the word" replied Hank, failing to notice the slight hint of irony in Magneto's voice; however, there was something deep in his own voice, something that resembled optimism.

"And all that talk about Apocalypse growing weaker?" stated Magneto.

"We need to be patient" said Hank. "However, evidence indicates that Apocalypse isn't as strong as when he first woke."

Hank stood in front of the group in order to explain the reason for their meeting.

Weeks earlier, when Apocalypse was all but a threat on the horizon, the X-Men had made important discoveries on who Apocalypse really was: the first-born mutant raised in old Egypt, whose name En Sabah Nur meant 'The First'.

He adopted the name Apocalypse and lived in Giza, where he unearthed 'The Eye of the Ages', device he ruled and hoped to become the source to all his powers.

Through this device, Apocalypse hoped to turn the peoples of the world into mutants and be their supreme ruler. His plans, however, were frustrated, for, dreading the future, his right-hand men betrayed him and locked him up inside The Eye. He was then laid at the highest altitudes and imprisoned behind three doors so he would never walk the Earth again.

Now, 5000 thousand years later, Apocalypse intended to resume his plans.

These pieces of information were easily translated by Hank; however, there was a portion of the hieroglyphs found, around ten per cent, that the doctor was yet to decode. They spoke of strange places and in metaphors.

That night, however, Hank believed to have finally unraveled them.

"These hieroglyphs" said Hank, pointing to a map on the table "depict a place that holds information on how to imprison En Sabah Nur."

"How is this new?" said Magneto "In your own words: 'Apocalypse can only be imprisoned in the chamber from which he woke, the one he transported to his pyramid and is kept under lock and key like a fortress.'"

Silence fell on the room as tension loomed in the air.

"Please, Magnus" asked Xavier, firmly. Wanted to believe that it was the pain making Magneto cruel. Would not let a pointless argument take place. "Show Hank respect or, please, leave."

Magneto fell silent in all his arrogance.

Hank took a deep breath and continued: "In fact, two distinct chambers are mentioned. At first glance, the inscriptions seemed to refer to the same place, i.e., to the chamber in which Apocalypse was locked up for a long time."

"The Eye of Ages" said Xavier.

"Precisely" continued Hank "This part, however" pointed to another spot on the map, "mentions another chamber, whose existence is unknown even to Apocalypse. It is called 'Genesis Chamber'. Once I was successful in distinguishing them, the rest came naturally" concluded, modestly. Due to the sudden uproar, Hank added: "The bad news is I don't know how we will lure Apocalypse into it. I hope to find these answers inside the chamber" added to himself.

"This means you know where to find it, Hank?" asked Xavier; there was an excitement in his voice that had not been heard since Apocalypse had crossed his X-Men.

The doctor assented. Pointed to some hieroglyphs under the descriptions mentioned earlier, to the right of the map. "Through these coordinates" he said almost triumphantly.

* * *

As she lay on the sheets, with her hands numbly resting on her belly, Rogue struggled to resist sleep as it insisted on enveloping her in its grasp. Odd feeling, being so at peace. She was almost scared of falling asleep and losing that feeling when she woke up in a new day.

Strangely enough, this time, Rogue did not protest Remy's drawing near to her; on the contrary, she yearned for it. Remy, who was next to her, propped himself up on his elbow, projecting his warm body over her.

The feeble light from the lamp made the shadows outside dance on them. The night was serene and silent. A breeze whiffled the curtain that beautifully surrounded the bed.

Remy's fingers played with her hair, spread out on the pillow, making it even harder on the girl to keep her eyes open. Perhaps out of egoism, Rogue wished to stay in that moment, freeze it, somehow.

In moments like that, she refused to go back to her old life.

As sleep made her mind foggy, Rogue did not suppose that Gambit's thoughts were not that different from hers.

There was not a soul around, and Gambit was aware of it, in that moment more than ever before. He had never seen Rogue so relaxed. He took the opportunity to get close to her without her objecting and pushing.

He started with her hair, not daring to touch her bare skin directly. Rogue's eyes fluttered open and closed again and again, ever so slowly. Long black eyelashes making her movements the more gracious. Her chest went up and down, up and down, up and down.

The situation was so platonic that Gambit was astounded by his own gestures. But he had learned that the best approach with Rogue should be cautious and simple. Although not even he himself knew where he wanted to get to.

How she allowed him to get so close to her, not even she knew. She had just let herself be carried away. Felt to be more asleep than awake to the point of believing that it was her imagination when she felt his fingers on her face. To her, touching was still something abstract. Still could not differentiate the real from imagination.

Remy knew it was risky to touch her, but at the same time, he would hate himself if he did not try. The worst that could happen had already happened. It was worth the try.

Rogue picked up on his intentions and struggled to open her eyes and keep them that way. Never before had she seen Remy's face so soft. All roughness that aged him was not there. Now he looked to be as young as he was; just a carefree boy starting his life and glimpsing all its possibilities.

The corner of her mouth tweaked despite herself. "Your eyes've always looked like that?" she asked softly, with her own eyes half-closed and her voice hoarse from sleep. She already knew the answer, but her sleepy state encouraged her to ask. Remy make a subtle nod with his head. She smiled a little more. "They're gorgeous."

His forehead wrinkled a little. "Dat's a first."

She tried to make an angry face to show him that she did not believe him. "Liar" whispered, again with her eyes half-closed.

"Your skin's red in here" he whispered, slightly stroking her cheek with his thumb.

Rogue shrugged almost imperceptibly. "Unlike your skin mahne doesn't get tanned easily" she said copying his tone of voice.

He stared at her face as if that was the last time he would lay eyes on her. "You beautiful de way you are. I wouldn't change a t'ing."

Rogue smiled, disbelieving; her eyes half-closed, now out of incredulity. "Nothing at all?"

Remy chuckled, briefly and hoarsely, from the deeps of his throat or perhaps even deeper. A shiver ran through her body. "Maybe I'd make you less hard-headed."

"You're one to talk" she murmured, wrinkling her eyebrows to look angry. After a brief pause, she asked more seriously: "How's she like?"

"Who?"

Rogue wetted her lips and swallowed in hard; her mouth was dry. Then lowered her eyes, ashamed of her question. Yet, she continued. "Your fiancée."

Remy removed his fingers from her face and laid his hand on the bed. "Why you ask, so out of de blue?" his voice was controlled, although he looked slightly irritated.

"You talked about her with so much affection. Ah'm sorry, Ah just..." she did not know what she was apologizing for.

Remy took a deep breath, seemed to ponder for a moment. "She's just de opposite of you, Rogue. She— _we_ – lost our innocence a long time ago. In de life we lead dere's no being a child for long" he shook his head, with a sad smile. "Unlike you... life's let you down but couldn't take away your... your purity, your innocence."

"Ah'm not innocent" she protested, with that feminine pout, typical of her.

Remy could not suppress a smile. "Not to mention de optimism you try so hard to hide"

"This optimism" she said, her voice sounding sleepier by every second that passed by "comes from the X-Men" she struggled to keep her eyes open, but almost failed. Smiled a little. "After everything you done for me, Ah know Xavier's gonna be glad to take you in. As an X-Man."

He closed his eyes and hung his head slightly. " _Non_ , _chérie_. It wouldn't work."

"Why not?" she questioned, with sorrow.

"I wasn't born to fight on de side of de angels."

Her eyes remained shut for a while. Remy thought she had finally fallen asleep until they were open again. "You may think otherwise," she murmured "but you're a hero" she finished, and could not keep her eyes open any longer.

He watched her fall asleep, teary-eyed. "I wish you were right, _chérie_ " he whispered, at last, caressing her face again.

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**


	16. Waking up to a dream

**xXxXx**

 **S** he was stubborn even with the small things. She knew she was going to get burnt under the hot sun, and still insisted on trying to get a tan.

She pulled up her bikini strap and smiled with satisfaction as she noticed an almost imperceptible tan line. It was her third week on that paradisiacal beach and the first time Rogue wore a bikini to laze in the sun – even though she had been dying to for days.

In the summertime, Rogue would watch the girls in the mansion's pool and envy them. When she did not hide in order not to see, she kept her distance, for everyone's own good. For that same reason, she would go around clad even on hot days. The last times Rogue went swimming were during the night while everybody else was sleeping. She missed swimming with the sun shining above, like she used to do when she was a little girl, playing in the river.

The bikini she was wearing was in the luggage Gambit had set up for her before they headed to the bungalow. She had accepted it without a word but never said anything about wearing it. Gambit, in his turn, teased her and dared her to put it on. Rogue, however, had refused to accept his teasing. Until that afternoon.

On her first days there, Rogue feared her powers would suddenly return; now that she doubted that would come to pass, she felt much more comfortable, genuinely self-assured. She was not forcing confidence and pretending to be proud of it. She was honestly enjoying being in her own skin for the first time in a long time.

Stubborn as she was, it would be too much to continue to show phony modesty while Gambit could walk around semi naked all the time.

And speaking of which... she rolled her eyes. There he came out of the water as if he were being filmed in slow motion, running and throwing his wet hair behind just to get on her nerves. Rogue looked away, subtly pretending not to see him; still, her throat got dry.

Gambit sat down next to her, purposely spitting water on her. "Need help, _chérie_? I can put sunscreen on your back if you want" he offered with a wink.

"Sure thing, sugah" she replied right back in a challenging tone.

For a second, only for a second, Gambit could not hide his surprise. As a good player, though, he grabbed the tube without wasting time.

She moved her hair out of the way and he gently rubbed his hands on her back and shoulders. Before long he found himself caught up in the movements of his own hands, movements that turned into caresses.

Rogue felt her guards fall down and her body relax, regretting her own bluff just as his fingers touched her skin. Touch was still not natural to her. Just a vague child memory. Few times she had physical contact after the manifestation of her powers.

Tried to remember when she touched Cyclopes, the day she joined the X-Men. If felt nothing like Remy's touch. The situations had absolutely nothing in common, she was aware of it, but that was not the point. Something happened every time Remy touched her, and she was sure that it was not her long touch deprivation that stirred her up.

"Thanks, Remy" she said with muffled voice, taking her strength from somewhere unknown. "It's fine".

" _De rien_ " he replied, with a gentle gesture. Swallowed hard and wetted his lips that burned to kiss her skin. He got up and headed to the water again. When he came back from his diving, Rogue had already been gone.

* * *

For a split second, Gambit thought he was back to his bed.

By his he meant the bed he had the longest; the one that was given to him when he arrived at the LeBeau's mansion. He still remembered how the boy he was felt as he got to that gigantic house, all his wonder and amazement.

In his naïve child's head, he had imagined that all the Guild members lived in some kind of underground HQ where they could hold meetings and plot heists of historical monuments. He had passed by that huge house without knowing that it belonged to the LeBeau family. When he realized Bella Donna had fooled him into believing her stories of dark catacombs, he swore to take revenge on the smug little girl.

The first thing the boy did as he was left alone in his new bedroom was to jump on the mattress. That was the first bed he called his, the bed he constantly missed despite himself, in which he had so many times woken up next to a beautiful girl he could never have breakfast with, as she had to flee before someone saw her; much like when he snuck into her room and also had to run out of the window afterwards.

Although no other bed compared to the one at the LeBeau's, this one, in which he had spent his last weeks, was not that bad at all. He woke up next to a beautiful girl as well. Loved to feel her warm body next to his as he opened his eyes to see brown hair spread on the pillowcase.

After moments of confusion, Gambit opened his eyes and seemed not to know where he was. It was still dark. He then rolled over to the other side of the bed and found it empty. As he got full awake, he noticed Rogue was not there.

A delightful notion of familiarity came over him, and Remy realized he had dreamed of Rogue. Did not recall the dream precisely, but there was a comfort sensation surrounding him. Regardless of what his dream was about, he knew it was pleasurable.

Gambit got up and pricked up his ears, walked in cat-like steps. He could only be heard if he wanted to. Only his eyes could betray his coming near. Eyes that shone in the dark. He heard the girl's breathing and followed it. Turned on the lights and only then Rogue noticed him there.

Gambit sat down next to her, on the floor, close to the backdoor. She was curled up, her arms held her legs against her chest as her head was sunken into her arms.

As she realized the lights were on and the warmth of the body next to her, Rogue left her curled up position and lifted her head up. At first, a bit disoriented, eyes narrowed and slightly red. Not because she had been crying, he noticed, but because of a bad night's sleep. He did not know how long she had been up; perhaps she had not slept at all.

She sniffed, and looked up at Remy. Stretched her legs, mimicking him, and sat up; she only realized her bad posture after shifting position. "Couldn't fall asleep" she said in a neutral voice.

The truth was she had gotten so used to having her sleep constantly disturbed, interrupted by nightmares and sleepless nights that it did not seem to matter anymore. After falling asleep so easily those last few nights, one bad night's sleep did not bother her at all. Ironically, the reason that kept her awake during that night was the opposite of what she had come to know.

"Ah had a bad dream. Then Ah woke and couldn't go back to sleep" she said with a shrug, speaking of it naturally for the first time, for she knew it had been an ordinary dream.

"An' how was dis bad dream?" he asked with an affable voice.

"Nothing much. Ah think Ah was running... Ah don't really know. It's just a blur."

She spoke the truth, and that truth alone was uncanny. After all the real nightmares she had, a silly bad dream felt even sillier.

The point was that up until the moment her powers disappeared, her nightmares had had some connection to the memories of the people she had touched. She felt like speaking of them would be a betrayal. In other instances, they were too scary, like when she dreamed of baby Kurt. Could still feel the chills when she recalled that.

Before, the voices in her head disturbed her to the point of preventing her falling asleep. It was as if the more relaxed Rogue felt, the more the voices tormented her; all of them speaking out at the same time.

To learn how to smother them and push them away required a superhuman effort of Rogue. Still, it was so tiring to try to be in control all the time, to keep focused all the time, without being able to relax. As to coming to grips with them, she did not think she ever would.

However, ever since she got to that beach, the voices had kept strangely quiet. It would be a huge coincidence if Apocalypse had nothing to do with that. If the mutant had affected her powers, why not the remainders of the psyches she had absorbed? The thought of Apocalypse having taken her powers away for good had always made her feel unpleasant shivers.

She looked at Remy... at those eyes. Realized she had been silent. Then looked down a little and the next thing her eyes saw were her own silly hands dropped on her thighs. Hands that did not know what to do. Bare hands. She missed her gloves despite herself. Her gloves were a symbol of protection. Without them, Rogue was bare naked.

Was it that bad, though?

"It's just..." she continued "it's so quiet in here" she said in a weak voice, briefly pointing at her head.

"People you absorbed?" he asked, sounded more like a statement than a question.

She nodded. "Every time Ah touch people, Ah steal who they are. Their powers – if they're a mutant – their memories, thoughts, ideas, plans... and then it's like each one of those people, as if a part of them... their essence, was imprinted on mah mind. Not just that. Sometimes, Ah feel like... they can influence me somehow."

Not being able to bring herself to look at him, she looked down at her hands again lying on her lap. "Influenced by thoughts, opinions, beliefs of the people Ah absorbed" her affliction grew. Covered the sides of her head with her palms. "So hard to know mah own voice from all the echoes" she paused. "All those voices squeezing and screaming to be heard. It kills me to think that the decisions Ah made maybe weren't really mine. As if Ah'm not mahself, like Ah don't know who Ah really am" paused again, cleansed her throat. "After Ah had a breakdown... after Ah was completely outta control, Ah didn't touch anyone else, Ah mean, until Mesmero showed up. Ah felt the echoes were getting weaker as time went by, but Ah was never really sure if they would vanish for good" she looked up at him. "And' now... nothing... only emptiness."

"It scare you?" he asked softly.

"Yeah" she whispered back. "Ah don't know why, Remy. Ah mean... Ah don't know what's gonna happen when we get back to Bayville. Ah don't know what will become of mah powers... whether Ah'll have them back or... or not" she laughed; a bitter lifeless laugh. "Ah've dreamed of being normal so many times—" she suddenly halted as she realized the absurdity of her own words "of not having these powers, or, at least, being able to control them like other mutants. And then just like that Ah have _everything_ Ah've wanted, but it feels odd... bittersweet" she then stopped. Only later would the implications of her emphasis on the word _everything_ dawn on her. She squinted at him before asking hesitantly: "You ever felt like this, Remy?"

"I've never been without my powers, but... I know what it feels like to lose control. I've been through dat" she shot him a curious look, waiting for him to go on. "Unlike you, unlike most of us, I kinda always knew I was a mutant" he briefly pointed at his eyes "I was born with these. I had no idea what kinda powers I'd develop, though."

"How'd you figure it out?" she asked him.

"One morning, I woke feeling very, very hot. For a couple of weeks before that I had constant migraines, fever, joint pain in my fingers... dat morning though, somet'ing was wrong. When I woke" he made a brief pause; allowing himself a little laugh "the blanket was being energized. I kicked it away in panic and seconds later dere was dis tiny explosion. Just terrifying. Took me months to learn to control it. Dere weren't other mutants in de Guild who I could count on to help me. Had to learn to control my powers all by myself. Of course all de training I had since I joined de Guild, all patience and concentration tests helped me, but it was hard anyway" he laughed again, as though recalling something silly. "Ev'ry morning I would go somewhere on the bayou and practice energizing and tossing rocks dat gradually grew bigger" he made another brief pause. "Funny how years later, sometimes I feel like I don't have full control" he turned to face her. "When you get control over your powers, Rogue, you'll see you didn't even scratch the surface. Dat's how I feel. I still think I can do more... much more..."

"Aren't you afraid of losing control?"

"When it happens, _if_ it happens, I'll deal wit' it, one way or another. Don't think of de worst. _Je vis un jour à la fois_."

"You really believe Ah'll get control eventually?" she asked in a somewhat innocent tone.

"Yeah. O'course I do."

She smiled a little. Silence fell but not the embarrassing kind.

"Dat's why you were into One-eye?" he asked suddenly, catching her off guard.

"Why... what?" she blinked in confusion.

"You were into dat boy scout, _n'est-ce pas_? He don't have control either" he tried to reply in that irritating devil-may-care manner of his. Irritating how it was obviously forced.

Rogue frowned. Had never seen it that way. Gambit may be right. Scott's lack of control attracted her. In her distorted thoughts she must have imagined that that point in common could have made for a relationship.

Thinking about it now, she doubted Scott ever thought the same way. He had gone through hardships due to his mutation, but it did not come even close to what Rogue had to endure. He could live a somewhat normal life. She had learned to live with her gloves, so Cyclopes must have learned to live with his red glasses. And, above all, he had Jean... while Rogue...

She turned her face to Remy. "You used past tense."

He smiled, genuinely confused. " _Pardon_?"

"You said 'were'. Why you so sure that's in the past?" she taunted him.

"You mean I was right about you being into dat loser?"

She hung her head, a little embarrassed. "Yeah."

"And I'm right about it now?"

"Uh-hu. Looking back… we never had anything in common. Just mah imagination telling me we were opposite sides of the same coin" she shrugged, feeling silly.

After a few seconds of silence, she threw her head back and sighed, looking at the ceiling and then back to Remy's face. When he turned to her, Rogue looked away. "You ever imagined how it'd be like not being a mutant?"

He nodded affirmatively. "Until I realized it wouldn't change a t'ing. Not gonna lie... I love my powers. Love the adrenaline. Love fighting and winning. Love facing death, smiling and saying 'not yet'."

She suppressed a laughter, biting on her lip.

"Hey!" he said trying to look annoyed.

"It's just..." she tried to say but ended up bursting out laughing.

He was unlike everyone she knew. Not only different from what she had expected, but from anyone else. Even though his eyes branded him as a mutant from birth, he did not consider his powers a burden. She felt enamored of him every second spent with him.

They finally reached the point where there was no coming back from.

Rogue wished he spoke more. Listening to his voice was comforting. Remy, however, yawned and got up. She hesitated, not wanting it to be over.

Gambit offered his hand to help her up. She accepted it without hesitation and so he pushed her up. She was on her feet but he did not let go of her hand.

It felt overwhelming. It would be crystal clear to anyone who saw them that their bodies were attracted to each other. They were past the point of pretending there was nothing going on between them. There was no running away. It was inevitable. It had always been.

Slowly, as if being afraid that any abrupt movement would scare her off, Remy came closer to her. It was no longer about winning the heart of the girl who had turned him down over and over again, much less touching the untouchable girl. It was not to satisfy his ego. His body burned for her not only out of desire.

She was fed up of thinking and pondering and hesitating. She felt attracted to him and could no longer find excuses not to surrender. Deep down, she had always wanted to do like any other reasonable girl would and throw herself at him. Not because she thought it would be her only chance at touching but because she felt she had been falling in love with him since they had found themselves on that beach.

One of his arms closed around her slender waist. Rogue felt her body being attracted to his and their bodies came together. Remy's free hand slipped up her arm, to her collar bone, to her neck and found its place in her hair. Her arms instinctively closed around his neck.

Their mouths met and everything stopped. At first, their lips moved slowly, then eagerly it became more intense and inhibited. Their mouths moved away only when it got impossible to breathe. Many other kisses followed the first. His arms held her tight. She had run away so many times that he was afraid of letting her go and lose her forever. This time, though, Rogue did not flee. She could never flee again.

Remy smiled, placing his palms on the sides of her face. "Don't run away from me again, Rogue, please" he said, kissing her face.

"Ah won't" she replied in anguish, sinking her face into his chest as if apologizing for being a coward for so long.

"Knew it was just a matter of time before you surrendered to my charms, _chérie_."

Rogue pulled away, trying to look up in arms but he silenced her before she could say anything.

He scooped her up, and took her to the bed. She fell on her back laughing as his kisses made it harder for her to breathe. Their mouths could never get enough of each other. Their hands slid along their bodies, exploring them, trying to make up for the lost time.

After the initial urgency of their mouths had been satisfied, they sat up, nestling into each other's arms.

Gambit breathed in the perfume of her hair. The scent of her skin, entrancing and addictive. Rogue laid her head down on Remy's left shoulder and closed her eyes. His left arm was on her waist as the right one fondled her face.

As she felt the sudden absence of his fingers touching her face, Rogue opened her eyes again. Gambit's right hand was now busy with a deck of cards, which seemed to have materialized in a magic trick. She smiled as she pondered where he kept them.

Staring at his face, Rogue noticed his eyes were distant. She shifted positions and straddled him with her arms around his neck.

Gambit's eyes regained focus and he smiled at her coming close without hesitating.

"Something wrong, sugah?"

Remy's smile turned into a grin. Her southern accent and attitude made him feel at home. He threw the deck of cards up in the air watching as they fell and spread out on the bed. Without looking, he caught a card in midair and gave it to Rogue.

"Queen of hearts?" she said, frowning.

"My lucky lady" he replied.

Rogue smiled and kissed him again before going back to her previous position. The Queen sliding between her fingers as her eyes became heavy.

They resisted but ended up falling asleep for the next few hours of darkness that were still left.

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**

 **Glossary:**

 _De rien_ – You're welcome

 _Je vis un jour à la fois_ – I live one day at a time


	17. Somewhere in between what is real and a

**xXxXx**

 **W** henever Rogue stared at her own reflection she seemed to see someone else. An accusing, cold-eyed stranger looking back at her. She would close her eyes and run off just to find that reflection again somewhere else.

The image reflected haunted her until the girl was not able to know who she really was behind all that makeup, which slowly had become her mask.

Eventually, she stopped running and turned into that reflection.

Over time, Rogue realized that if she stared long enough into the mirror, she would find imperfections that grew more conspicuous, weirder, turning her into a distinct being from the previous one, further distancing herself from whom she would like to be, from whom she could have been.

These imperfections, she knew, were more than pouches under her eyes, freckles or fatigue; she perceived details no one else could see.

On the other hand, when she glanced at her reflection by accident, her face would resemble a fragile and incomplete shadow. She tried hard to turn it into her face, and as soon as she did it, she would watch her transformation into a white ghost, wandering aimlessly, lost and miserable. A ghost clad in black.

The saddest girl who had ever lived. Deprived of the most basic human need. Deprived of touch.

Bent over the river of the most limpid blue-green water she had ever seen, except on a screen, Rogue did not see any of that anymore. All she could see then was the young and healthy face of a girl whose beauty leaped to the eyes. A fact that had always slipped her attention, for all that blinded her.

Her reflection, however, became whole only after another young face joined hers.

The image then dissipated into water rings in the moment their lips came together. His arms grabbed and pulled her closer to him as her arms wrapped around his neck and her white fingers clenched his wet hair.

Rogue's mind was filled with oneiric memories. Reliving surreal sentiments through that gesture. It was still hard for her to believe as she woke in that very morning that she had found, as in an impossible fantasy, her body close to his. She could not stop thinking about how everything seemed to fall into place just like that.

She felt their entwined legs, one arm under her neck and the other around her waist, his hot breath in the back of her neck, lips brushing her hair.

Rogue ran her slender fingers along the blue veins on his hand. Felt the touch of his lips on her shoulder and turned to feel it on her lips as well.

Back in the river, Rogue wondered how she could have been naïve to the point of thinking she could ever live without knowing how it felt...

* * *

Rogue looked up with absente-minded eyes and, through the mirror, saw him standing at the door.

"What?" she asked, somewhat bewildered, her mouth full of toothpaste. Clumsily tried to hide a smile, which for days had refused to leave her lips.

"Jus' enjoying de view, Anna" he replied, showing a smile that had certainly gotten him out of trouble in many occasions.

Her name now flowed naturally from his lips. Rogue, in her turn, was still getting used to it. She still felt a peculiar shiver every time he called her by her _other_ name.

Funny how something so trivial could be so soothing. "Well, Ah'll be! We do look like a couple" she teased. Nonetheless, the gravity of the true meaning of her words hit her. Finished brushing her teeth, and then started brushing her wet hair in order to keep her hands occupied.

"We moved in together, _non_?" he said in jest; still, his eyes did not leave her. While she flustered, he seemed to get more comfortable; leaned on the doorjamb, crossed his arms and heels.

As she realized he would not let up on her, Rogue put her brush aside, leaned back on the sink and turned to him. "This is vacation, Remy" she said softly; could not think of anything better to say.

"It's a good start" he retorted. He then moved forward, closed in on her as if she were his prey. "Doesn't mean I can't introduce you as my girl" he concluded pulling her closer to himself.

She chuckled genuinely. "Introduce me to who? It's just the two of us here" the laughter made her voice sound shrill.

Gambit remained unshaken. Her laughter faded away and she smiled shyly. "You making this official, Cajun?" her voice was sweet and darer. She arched an eyebrow of doubt to taunt him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I am" he replied without hesitation; the gravitas lasted only a second. "No way I'm asking Wolverine for your hand in marriage, though."

Rogue guffawed. When he leaned to kiss her, though, she chased him out of the bathroom for his intrusion.

With her cheeks flushed from the effort of pushing him out, Rogue rested her back against the door, smiling like a fool. She looked into the mirror, deeply into her own eyes, and found beauty on her face, at last. Not only that, she thought to herself, wrinkling her eyebrows a little. There was something that resembled happiness.

* * *

When Gambit was about to finish doing the dishes from the lunch he had prepared, Rogue finished sweeping out the pile of sand that snuck into the house on a daily basis.

Putting her broom aside, she sat down comfortably at the counter; her legs spread, only her tiptoes touching the floor, sleepy eyes, chin rested on her hands and her elbows on the table.

She caught herself smiling as she watched Remy. He was wearing a ridiculous fuchsia apron. Her words, not his. Remy considered himself to be the only one who could wear the piece with style. He finished his chores and rested on the counter, drawing near to her. "What you wanna do today, Anna?"

Not that there were that many options. Their days were all about walking, exercises, swimming and spending most of the day in each other's arms.

Days full of swimming in the sea, snuggling in bed at night, breakfast on the sand, words spoken without hesitation, teasing followed by passionate kisses, the certainty it felt right, that for the first time there seemed to be a tomorrow.

Above all else, there was the comforting fact that Rogue knew it had not been abrupt. They had had plenty of time, time to get to know each other and somehow try to figure out what they were feeling for each other, with no interference of any sort. It was more than Rogue could ever have hoped for.

How relieving it was to know that she did not have to be tormented by the notion that some voice in her head had something to do with the decisions she made. Finding out she was not who she thought she was. All her gothic girl attitude was still there; she would never stop being Rogue. Nonetheless, she had left behind her trying to be invisible and her keeping people at arm's length at all costs.

She felt that, for the first time, she was also Anna Marie. She was turning into the person she would have been had she not been cursed with uncontrollable powers. All it took was getting away from everything she knew to find out. And she was enjoying this life much more than she should for her own good.

The days Rogue spent contemplative, miserable, blaming herself for setting Apocalypse free, making up the worst case scenarios, concealing, saying she was fine were most certainly gone.

It did not mean she had forgotten about it all, it was just that she had learned to be patient, realized that worrying would not lead to a solution, accepted there were things that inevitably were out of her hands. Something that was much easier to accept when she had the control over what mattered the most.

* * *

On a night hotter than usual, Remy found himself having trouble to fall asleep, for his mind filled with nostalgic memories insisted on reminiscing. And if there was something he hated was dwelling on his past.

He gave himself a headache from thinking and trying _not_ to think. Feeling his temples throbbing painfully, he got to his feet to get himself some medication. There was a small but sufficient stash they took with them.

Going back to bed as stealthily as he had gotten out of it, he could not help stopping for a moment to watch through the mosquito net over the bed as Rogue slept. She was lying down in the same position she had fallen asleep in.

Perhaps it was the medication kicking in or because it was the middle of the night or the atmosphere, whatever it was, Remy looked at her feminine shape and curves as if she was not real. He must have lost his mind because he felt more and more in love with that girl. Tried hard to talk himself into believing that making their relationship official had been a joke, but he knew that was a lie. He wanted to be with her, regardless of what or who he would have to fight against.

He moved the net aside and lay down next to her, shut his eyes. When he felt he was finally drifting off, as if in a punishment, he felt the weight of her arm and leg on his chest and thigh, respectively. Rogue rolled over in her sleep to nestle against him.

For the girl who could not touch, that was a meaningful gesture. Rogue had come a long way. He knew she trusted him, so much so that he felt a sudden and cold fear of letting her down.

Remy put his arms around her, as if she could hear his thoughts, reassuring he could never hurt her. With his shifting positions, Rogue shifted a little too, pressing her body further into his, brushing her thighs against his. He then felt a different kind of pain. There was no lying. It was not easy having her sleeping next to him every night and keeping chaste, pretending he did not want her in other ways as well. She slept like a log next to him, unaware of what was running through his mind.

As he barely slept during the night, Remy ended up falling asleep when it was almost dawn. So when Rogue got up, he did not even feel the soft kiss she planted on his cheek.

She went back to bed later on, wearing her habitual shorts and tank top; with a naughty smile, crawled silently, wanting to deliberately wake him up. Lay down next to him and caressed his face until he woke up few minutes later.

"Morning" he murmured.

"Morning" she replied with a smile.

Remy noticed he had slept late but there there was no point in asking what time it was. "I slept in" he stated as he stretched.

"Breakfast's just about ready" she said, kissing him on his face again. Remy, however, held her in a long and intense kiss.

They drew apart breathless. Rogue could not help but casting him a questioning look; instead of answering he covered her with more kisses.

Just to tease him, Rogue squirmed out of his arms when the kettle whistled in the kitchen, got up despite his pleading, her legs quivering. Gambit sunk his face in the pillow in order to muffle a frustrated groan.

In the afternoon, their plans of spending the day in the sea were frustrated when a sudden storm forced them to run back to the house after just a few minutes of walking.

As soon as they reached the front door, soaking wet and gasping, they fought against the wind until they finally slammed the door shut; hair pasted on their faces just like their clothes on their bodies. They exchanged glances before bursting out laughing and falling into each other's arms, in that order.

Remy pressed her against the door. One arm around her waist, one hand on her thigh, he kissed her on her neck and nape, tasting the drops of rain in the tip of his tongue blending with her scent. His hands longing for more, pushing her tank top up almost despite himself. Fighting against the urge to just pick her up and take her to bed.

Each touch more irresistible.

Gambit mustered up the strength to draw back and cut their kiss short, even though his hand still held her, resisting.

"What's wrong, Remy?" she asked, blinking in confusion, unconsciously leaning forward, wanting more.

Remy gulped; words surprisingly escaping him. Could she be that clueless?

"We better stop here, Anna" he said at last, aching, gasping for air. Moved back, even though deep down he hoped she would stop him – she did not.

Rogue stilled her arms in time, struggling not to repress her feelings again. She thought their relationship had been progressing in a comfortable pace.

Remy dared to smile. "Guess it'd be a lot easier if we were on de couch at Xavier's living room, holding hands, wit' Wolverine checking on us."

Rogue could not help but laughing as she pictured the scene in her mind. How silly and ordinary that would be.

In a way, walking around semi naked in a place where there was no one else around was not ideal.

"You can go back to sleeping in the sofa if that makes you feel better" she suggested, feeling comfortable enough to tease him after his comment had relieved the tension. In the end, she could not go through with it. "Sorry. Ah didn't know you... Ah just... Ah don't wanna be all covered up again, Remy, especially now that Ah've been… comfortable."

"I don't want you to" he said, placing a kiss on her forehead, unlike the previous kisses but not less sincere. "Jus' try to go easy on me, ok?" he said with a blink.

She gave him a sympathetic smile and laid her head on his chest; Remy gave off an aching moan and stepped back in a humorous fashion. "Dat's what I'm talkin' abou'."

She giggled. "I'mma take off these wet clothes" she said as she turned on her heels and sashayed away from him as if not a word he said was heard. Turned to him one last time. "By myself... in the bathroom... behind a locked door."

He smirked. That girl would be his undoing. The Prince of Thieves had his heart stolen by a Rogue.

* * *

Doctor McCoy's eyes could not hide his anxiety as the Black Bird made his way to the place where the coordinates indicated. Hank hoped to finally find the Genesis Chamber, which they hoped would turn into Apocalypse's new – and final – tomb.

"We're here" Cyclops cried out from the pilot chair. The trajectory had been ridiculously short. His voice interrupted the silence and thoughts of the rest of the group in which Xavier, Jean, Shadowcat and Nightcrawler also took part, the latter two had gotten themselves a spot in the mission through annoying pushiness.

Without any fuss, the ship landed in the middle of the Mojave Desert, a place shrouded in mysteries, known as a plane cemetery as if there was something attracting them there. Maybe there really was.

"Here?" Kitty asked in utter surprise as they stepped down. When she questioned where they were headed, California sounded like a joke. Cyclops joking should have tipped her off, though, she thought somewhat amused. "Why here? Shouldn't the pyramid be in Egypt or something?" she intended her question not to sound stupid. Failed.

Frowning, the doctor pondered. "The coordinates point to this location here. The hieroglyphs suggested that Apocalypse was aware of neither this chamber's location nor its existence..." he wandered again.

"But if we managed to get here, then Apocalypse can also do it easily" said Cyclops.

"Undoubtedly" said Xavier, "however, do not forget that the path that brought us here was a succession of mysteries unraveled with much effort."

"And also," The Beast continued "whoever brought the chamber here – assuming it is in fact here – did it, purposefully mixing it up with The Eye of Ages. They must have brought the chamber here and hid it for centuries" he went on conjecturing. "It was expected that Apocalypse wouldn't find it in the New World, that he would see it as no more than a metaphor, instead of a real chamber, just like we did at first. Quite clever. There would be no reasons for Apocalypse to believe there was another chamber. Might have seen the coordinates as a simple error."

"I say it's a stroke of luck that the chamber is buried in a desert" said Nightcrawler. "Since it was brought here centuries ago, it could've been buried by skyscrapers by now."

Beast smiled, kindly. "Perhaps they knew."

"What do you mean?" questioned Cyclops.

"Many things are not plain twists of fate... there are parts of this picture that are yet to be unraveled."

Without further ado, the tracking devices were brought. In few minutes, they were all set.

After scanning approximately two hundred feet, something was found. They gathered around, eager for news.

Xavier scanned the underground. There was in fact a pyramid buried in the appointed place.

"I go first, like the last time?" questioned Kitty.

But Xavier had different plans. "Allow me to try something else instead."

With his mind, Xavier went through the pyramid, examined every corner. Saw the chamber safely hidden inside it. There were unfamiliar inscriptions all over the place, not hieroglyphs; looked like it could be from another world. The Professor made an attempt to pick into the chamber. His vision, however, was suddenly cut off and Xavier felt an excruciating pain pierce through his body.

Everyone rushed to assist him.

"I was hit by an extremely powerful psychic wave. Not to worry, I'm fine" said the Professor with effort despite his words. Suddenly, like in a magic trick, everything became clear. The inscriptions came back to him, legibly. Xavier could not explain how but he knew what to do next.

He closed his eyes, and struggled until the ground began to tremble and the capstone of the pyramid emerged through the sand.

As soon as it was completely visible, the Professor promptly covered it up in order to deceive whatever eyes with illusion of a formidable magician.

However, the trick was not over yet. The pyramid split in half and opened a door.

The Beast carefully drew closer and gently slid his fingers along the carving, fascinated. "This is identical to the chamber in which Apocalypse was imprisoned. It certainly is the other chamber's twin" he suddenly came back down to earth. "You guys feel free to leave. I'll stay" he said as if realizing they could not transport the chamber. "The Professor needs rest."

"I'm fine" Xavier assured. "Our priority is for the pyramid to be concealed."

"I can do this, Professor" said Jean. "At least for the time being. We'll figure it out for the long haul."

Cyclops took the lead. "I'm taking the Professor back to the mansion. Kurt, come with. The others set up camp. We'll be back soon."

* * *

Sunlight forced its way through the trees as birds sang in unison. Clouds moving nonstop, covering up and then releasing the sun as they went, making shadows dance on the sand. The scent of the previous day's rain filled the air as raindrops fell of the trees.

Rogue halted, pretending to be tired due to their long morning walk. Rested her hand on her knees and wheezed. Remy went on; he knew she was faking it, trying to cut their walking short. She had tried to pull that one on him before.

Realizing he was not convinced, Rogue set out running, on her face an expression of someone who accepted a challenge, and she threw herself at his back. Caught by surprise, they both crashed down on the sand. Rogue rolled over and, flat on her back, laughed until her belly ached. So did he. Both reminded of their first day on a beach not unlike that one.

A whole life seemed to have come to pass since then.

As soon as Remy was able to stop his laughing, he turned his face and stared at her. Rogue was alive. The confidence pouring through every pore of her body was evident; she looked taller just by shifting her posture and attitude.

When her burst of laughter ceased, Rogue closed her eyes to feel the heat on her body. The sun was good for her. She thought she was home for the first time.

She raised her eyes to the blue sky, instinctively holding her hand above her head to protect them. With half-closed and crystal-clear green eyes, as if mesmerized, she watched the sunlight between her long white fingers, formerly mortal fingers.

Observed as if the back of her uncovered hand, devoid of gloves and the fear of touching, was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. Fascinated by the dispensability of her gloves and her growing need for touch.

Propping up on her elbow, she leaned over him, throwing her hair back and biting on her lower lip. Touched his lips with hers to tease him. In a swift and familiar move, Remy shifted their positions, and, with one hand around her waist and the other on her neck, he kissed her. Remy took notice of the faraway look in her eyes and asked if there was something wrong; hoarse voice, caressing her face with his fingers.

"Ah'm glad _you_ fell on that beach with me" she said as in a confession.

"Actually, I followed you dere."

"Ah don't want this to end" she said, looking away in order to hide the lump in her throat. "It's not enough. Ah want more."

He pushed away a lock of hair from her eyes. "We'll have to go back eventually, Anna."

"Ah know" she said, diverting her eyes. Although it was what she wanted to hear, she could not blame him for saying; it was the truth, as painful as it was.

"I'll go wit' you" he said, pushing her to look into his eyes. "To Bayville, wherever you go for as long as you want me dere" the spontaneity in his voice made his words sound the more real. She believed.

Just like that it was as if there was hope for a less dark future.

 **To be continued…**

 **XxXxX**


	18. Illusive dreams

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. I hope you like this too.

 **xXxXx**

 **H** ow easy it was to lose track of time in a place like that. Always warm and snug. Borderline unreal. Daily sea bathing, strolling around, no time to start, no time to end, no responsibilities nor demands. They ate their meals when hungry, went to bed when sleepy, as if the outside world was now unreachable.

They had had that routine for a month and neither seemed to be growing tired of it nor getting stuck in a rut. And, above all, they never stopped enjoying being together, let alone having their bodies close.

Seeing everything with different eyes, Rogue could not dream up a more perfect place to reflect and find herself. She was fascinated by every discovery she made about herself. However, nothing could beat the discoveries she made about him. The same man she had learned to see as an enemy became constant in her life, just about 24-7. And she loved every minute of it.

Rogue had no idea what day or month it was. The hands of the clock seemed to move in a strange fashion. At times, it went by slowly; at others, so fast that it seemed to always be twilight. Thinking about it, Rogue wondered whether there was a clock in the house; she never noticed for there the time did not matter at all.

Gambit, on the other hand, seemed to always be a step ahead. So much so, on one night, which for Rogue was like any other, he reminded her it was the day to go to back to civilization to pick up supplies. This time around, Gambit had all set, the boat had been schedule previously, which would make the trip faster and less tiring. There were some provisions left, however, they were running out of some hygiene products.

Fighting her hotheaded nature, Rogue did not insist on going along. The trip was long and arduous, also, the farther she stayed away from people's eyes, the better. Rogue had finally accepted this fact, even though she knew there would be a boring day ahead of her. Gambit left first thing next morning after placing a goodbye kiss on her forehead. She muttered something and went back to sleep. Soon after, as she realized she was alone in bed, she rolled over to the other side and sunk her face into his pillow, breathing into his scent. His side of the bed was still warm.

She stretched out, not feeling like getting up. When she finally did, she went straight to the bathroom, barefoot and no need to put more clothes on. She wore her panties and thin white tank top, which barely served to cover up her breasts. She was still amazed that she slept like that next to him.

She spat toothpaste and took a deep discouraged breath. Wished he would show up behind her back and grab her by the waist, like so many times before, raining kisses on her, giving her no choice but to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him on his lips.

She would spend the next few hours trying to busy herself with small tasks, only to realize she would have to be patient. Eventually, she fell asleep on the couch, with a book on her chest, wishing it would not be long until Gambit returned. Rogue used to be by herself back at the Institute, and now the mere thought of solitude made her anxious.

She realized that they spent so much time together that neither got to miss the other. Now Rogue understood what it meant to feel butterflies in her stomach while waiting for someone to finally be there, to count down the minutes until they would be together again.

Every twenty minutes or so, Rogue would check the front door to see if Gambit was near. Around her eighth attempt she was rewarded. Upon spotting him, she ran straight at him, throwing herself in his arms. He let the two handmade bags drop to the ground in order to welcome her in an embrace. Her legs wrapped around his waist.

Rogue laughed at the ridiculous hat he was wearing (she would soon find out she got one as well) and tossed it away in order to kiss his warm lips.

They finished their welcome, she picked up one of the bags, took a pick inside it, and they headed back to the house. Sadly, this time, Gambit did not bring any news.

"I couldn't get in touch wit' my cousin" he said once they were back inside. "I went a little farther than usual to get better internet connection but didn't find anything other than we already know."

She smiled a toothless smile and assured him it was okay, hoping that lack of news meant good news.

* * *

Rogue yawned for the fifth time in the last three minutes. Stared down at her toes playing in the water. The weather was so hot. At least it was windy, she thought. Felt her eyes were slowly closing. Her body slightly leaned forward, lulled by sleep; she thought that she was going to fall right into the water, inviting as it was.

When she suggested that they should consider doing something different, she figured that Gambit would have a more creative idea than going fishing. He rigged a fishing pole up, and there they were sitting on a rock with their feet touching the water. Like him, Rogue wore the straw hat she hated so much, and a light shirt over her bathing suit.

After half an hour, which felt like forever, Rogue started to doubt they would ever catch any fish. "There's no fish here" she said grumpily.

"O'course dere is, _chère_. You gotta be patient" his focused expression was exasperating.

"We won't catch anything without appropriate bait" she rolled her eyes, frustrated with being ignored. "Ah don't know, Ah thought you'd be into a more adventurous activity or something" that was when it hit her. "You're just doing this to get under my skin, ain't you?" her question was a threat. Held back not to let out a "ha!".

Gambit did not show any reaction; just ignored her. Rogue could not tell whether it was her imagination or did a smile form on the corner of his lips.

Setting her fishing pole aside, Rogue determinedly rose to her feet. Stretched out, as her previous position was uncomfortable, raised her arms above her head and puffed up her chest. Took off her shorts and shirt fastened by the middle button, keeping only her bikini on, and lastly took the hat off. Made a pile of her clothes, placing her flip-flops, which she wore to step on hot sand, on top of it for weight.

Standing there, she looked at Gambit out of the corner of her eyes to see whether he was looking at her – apparently he was not. In fact, he was amused, only concealed it well.

Rogue then dived headfirst, in a leap that came off not as perfect as she had expected, because she slipped a little and fell clumsily. Stayed underwater for a few seconds to disguise. Emerged with only her eyes half-closed above the surface. He pretended not to notice. Gambit brought his feet up as he anticipated her next move was to pull him down.

Improvising, she adopted an oversweet tone of voice. "Come down, the water's warm and perfect."

"Not before I catch a fish" he said, trying not to laugh. "If you haven't already scared dem off, dat is."

She contemplated splashing water on him but decided against it as she doubted it would work. She then pulled his pole until he almost fell down. Having said that, breaking it was not her intention.

"I can't believe you broke my fishing pole" he said, struggling not to burst into laughter.

"So what? You caught _me_ , now come down here" she demanded in an authoritative but playful tone of voice.

He stopped resisting, took his shirt and hat off, piling them up along with her clothes, and jumped to meet her. As if out of revenge, Rogue dived and swam away, yearning to get caught. Gambit was faster and caught her by the leg, pulling her to him and stealing an underwater kiss.

They finally emerged breathless. Rogue removed the hair from her face, sleeking it back, and grinning at him. Put her arms on his shoulders and kissed him on the lips before swimming away again.

* * *

She woke up to the scent of coffee and could not resist taking a peek at him in the kitchen. She stared at him from a distance and a smile crossed her lips. The more she tried rationalizing, the less sense it made. She was not blind to how good-looking he was but could never say their relationship started off based on physical attraction.

Few weeks before they fought opposite sides. She understood that Gambit did not concur with the Acolytes' ideology, still that was how they had crossed paths. Now she trusted him. She trusted him so that if she saw it from a third-party perspective she would probably regard herself as naïve. How could she not trust him, though? It seemed impossible after all he had done and still did for her. His being untrue was out of the question.

He saved her life when he could have just turned his back on her instead, put his own life in jeopardy. And again he stayed with her when he might as well just leave. And she knew that her feelings for him were not feelings of gratitude, not a debt of honor.

Gambit got them a place to stay and hide but it ultimately felt like home. He tried getting close to her the more delicate possible ways. Respected her limitations on letting anyone close, and broke down her walls. Perhaps Rogue did not even know that it was not that easy for him either. If keeping people at arm's length was her defense mechanism, getting physical was his. Walking that emotional path was torturous for a helpless, so many times used, street boy. They were so alike in that aspect that they could never desert each other, because they knew what it felt like to be used and betrayed and abandoned by someone they called a parent. They had each other now, despite nothing being that simple.

Past the flirting and teasing, they knew what they were feeling became dangerously real. As they feared, now it was too late to turn back.

As hard as it had been for Rogue to learn how to touch without restrictions, now she could. She was no longer the untouchable girl, only stubborn. To be honest with herself she had never overcome her fear of touching. Deep down, she was afraid her powers were going to be restored, although at that point she doubted it, the fear would always be with her.

She imagined what would have been like if they had met in different circumstances. Even if they were not foes, she pondered if she would have let him get so close in case she had her powers uncontrolled. Even without her powers, she resisted. Gambit, on the other hand, was more than willing to help her lose the fear once and for all, even with low artifices as it was definitely proved in that same afternoon in one of his boldest moves.

The day was unbearably hot. Rogue felt like her body was extending and melting. Probably the hottest day since their arriving. Lying flat on the couch, she needed to freshen up. The problem was that they had just come back from swimming in the sea. Her fingertips were still wrinkled from the hours spent in the water.

She decided to take her third bath of the day. Filled up the tub, hoping the water would come out cool. She had always enjoyed warm showers but the weather that day asked for a cool bath. Felt the water and made a face. It was warm. Got undressed slowly before stepping into the tub. Played with the soap bubbles. As she finally found a comfortable position, she closed her eyes and found herself smiling.

However, knockings on the door yanked her out of her daydreaming. She saw Remy's head appear through the door opening. Hadn't she locked the door? She surely had.

"Brought your towel. You left it on the bed, _chère_."

It was not the whole truth but he wanted an excuse to get in the tub with her, so he got himself an excuse.

"Thanks, Remy" she said, bewildered, sinking a little more into the water. When Remy did not leave, Rogue felt strangely self-conscious.

Walking around semi-naked on a deserted beach was one thing; being actually naked made her feel somewhat vulnerable. She had gotten used to not wearing a lot of clothes and not covering up her body. She was also used to Remy undressing her with his eyes whenever he could, even when she wore only bikini. The same happened with his hands that seemed to have the right to wander wherever they felt like. But now all that separated her nudity from him was soap bubbles.

Remy sat down on the edge of the tub, ran his fingers in the water. She sunk so only her eyes were above the surface.

"Do you mind if I get in dere wit' you?"

She breathed out heavily. "Ah don't think we fit here."

But it was too late, he entered anyway, still wearing his shorts. The water overflowed and ran onto the floor. He sat down opposite to her, bending his knees and pushing her to do the same.

As Rogue contracted, Gambit expanded. He put his arms out of the tub and smiled satisfied.

She squinted at him, not knowing how to feel, but somewhat angry. "You ask me to go easy on you but then you come barging in on mah bath."

"Not de first time I couldn't keep a promise, _chère_."

He then leaned forward at her direction, hovering his body over hers. When Rogue pouted he knew she was not really angry. He kissed her softly on her lips and she stopped resisting right away. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him guide.

Underwater, his hands went up her leg. Wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her with him as he sat down. For a moment, she forgot her being naked and let herself fall onto him, making more water overflow.

There was no room for him to stretch his legs so he kept them bent; only his knees could be seen above the water and her slim body between his knees.

Rogue kept her eyes closed as she dived into his mouth; still, she was aware of her breasts against his chest and her back and her cheeks above the surface.

"Anna?" he called her, panting, his lips on hers. She replied back with a weak moan, not wanting to take her tongue off his mouth. "I can't feel my butt."

She came to her senses, looked up at him and laughed. "I told you the tub was too small for the two of us" sat back on the other side, curling up, her arms crossed over her chest since a good chunk of the water had been spilled.

Gambit got out of the tub, splashing the floor even more, his shorts dripping. Crouching down, he gave her a long kiss.

"I'll wait in de kitchen" he said with a charming smile. "I'll fix us something to eat."

With a huge smile and cheeks blushed, Rogue stayed in the tub for a little longer. She dried and wrapped herself around the towel when she did not find her clothes she realized he must have taken them away. She got dressed before meeting him in the kitchen. They could clean up the mess in the bathroom some other time.

In a blurred sequence of events, she would soon find herself sitting on the table, her legs around his waist. They only stopped when smelled something burning.

* * *

It was rather early when the X-Men were called for a meeting. With the exception of the youngsters, who seemed to be oblivious to most of the commotion, the rest of the residents of the Xavier Institute got to the meeting room in less than five minutes, eager to hear good news.

Wolverine was the last to arrive. Silently sat down next to Storm. "Any progress?" she discreetly asked him, as if it was a secret they shared.

"No" the Wolverine replied, with wrath burning in his eyes. "It's no use, 'Ro. Mesmero won't spit it out."

That was the fourth failed attempt at interrogation. This time, Wolverine had lost his cool, and Mesmero ended up hurt. Wolverine changed into clean clothes; however, looking carefully, one could notice the dry blood under his fingernails. Storm noticed. She would never collude with such acts of violence but the desperation before that situation they were in turned her into his accomplice, albeit only by remaining silent.

On a big screen, Hank McCoy appeared. Although clearly worn out, his constant enthusiasm was not completely overshadowed by exhaustion. He had made important discoveries while he worked uninterruptedly for the past two days.

Thanks to team work, the pyramid remained hidden from the rest of the world as it was telepathically concealed when a vessel coming near was detected.

Behind Beast there was Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Jean and Cyclops, who made up team number two, on their shift. Nonetheless, the teams' job was to make sure that nothing went wrong and not to necessarily assist Beast. Unfortunately, the doctor would have to work by himself on that task, employing his intellect. There was not much the young ones could do and, even though they tried, could not find anything significant.

In a rough mechanic voice, Beast spoke up. "We found out that the inscriptions on the chamber speak of a prophecy. There are four artifacts, which combined mean Apocalypse's imprisonment, leading to his defeat."

"Any progress in finding out what these artifacts are?" asked Xavier.

Beast nodded his head after a two-second delay. "Three rings similar to the ones used to free Apocalypse. These, however, hold the opposite power" he paused. "The fourth artifact isn't a ring, though" he swallowed in a dry throat before finishing. "It's a mutant."

"Mesmero?" guessed Storm. The only one who dared say anything as the others stayed morbidly silent.

Beast shook his head. "We don't know."

"Can be any of us" Wolverine's hoarse voice was heard after a long moment of silence.

Xavier spoke again. "Hank, how are we supposed to find these artifacts?"

"As far as I learned, each one of these rings, and the mutant, are located in four different parts of the globe" he stopped for a moment and disappeared from the screen. There was the sound of rustling paper. Hank returned, showing a sheet with some rough but legible drawings. "Each artifact is depicted as a symbol. They are a scarab, a scorpion and a snake. The depiction of the mutant is of an open palm" he said pointing to the respective drawing. "The prophecy has it that this mutant will be able to merge into the artifacts, and thus, bring ruin upon Apocalypse" he said as if talking to himself. "There are no specifications of how this will come to be."

"How can we find them?" questioned Wolverine, unfairly losing his patience.

Beast did not falter, his voice remained amiable as always. "All I could find is that there'll be signs. Of what kind, I don't know; only that it will be unleashed as soon as the Genesis Chamber is open."

"Can you open it?" questioned Xavier.

With an uneasy smile, Beast said: "Yes."

* * *

Ever since Rogue had landed on that beach she hardly had any trouble sleeping again. With the odd absence of her powers, the voices in her head had been shut down. Perhaps gone for good, which was a comforting thought. That night, however, was an exception.

She could feel Gambit sleeping deeply next to her. Rogue, on the other hand, had a headache, and the skin of her face and shoulders burned from spending too much time in the sun.

She was lying on her back because she could not get comfortable on her side like she preferred. Only time she dozed, she woke up startled. Strangely enough, the nap caused a moment of confusion and, for some hopeless moments, she had no idea where she was. Thought she was back in the room she shared with Kitty at Xavier's, and her heart nearly stopped. Looked around but it was too dark to see. A gruff grave voice brought her back to reality, and Rogue finally realized where she was. Felt the relief run through her body as Remy switched on the lamp.

"You okay?" his voice was sleepy; his eyes half-closed due to the sudden light. "Somet'ing wrong, Anna?"

She tried to smile, and nodded negatively as a lump formed in her throat. The concern in his voice threw her off balance. It was not the kind of concern she was used to. It was not of a father fearing his child's safety, neither of a friend like she knew in Kitty and Kurt; or, even worse, the pity the others could not hide.

Had Remy called her _chérie_ or any other pet name it would have been easier but when he called her by her real name, she knew it to be even more sincere.

He pulled her close to him, putting his arms around her tightly. Somehow, he knew what was troubling her. He could also sense reality forcing its way through their lives. Unlike her, Remy tried not to think about it. When it came to it, he would face it.

Shifting positions, she lay with her back to him and he embraced her. He brushed her ear with his lips as if about to confess something but stayed silent.

* * *

As Rogue had not slept well, she got up early, moving Remy's arm carefully in order not to wake him up.

She opened the front door noiselessly and sat down, watched the sunrise and felt as the weather got warmer. The day was clear when Gambit found her. It hurt his heart to see her alone. Would not let her isolate herself again.

"The sky looks beautiful" she said when felt his coming near. She had her legs pulled against her chest – remains of a habit that had not disappeared completely.

Gambit smiled contented. His presence no longer slipped away unnoticed. He was still as stealthy as always, she was the one who became more perceptive to him.

" _Oui_. It really does" he agreed, his voice soft and hoarse, as he sat down next to her. She silently laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled up into his arms.

"What's on your mind?" he whispered near her ear, which made her shiver.

She smiled and relaxed in his arms. "Ah been restless. Ah try not to but sometimes Ah wonder about how it's gonna be like when we get back... when we face... the lives we had before this."

That feeling would always be there, despite the effort to ignore it. A tiny weak voice deep down in their minds telling them that eventually it would have to come to an end.

Remy's expression became bitter. "You mean Apocalypse, your powers or... or me?"

Her face saddened as she turned to him. "Ah mean everything. Everything here is so... so perfect. Ah know it'll have to end and there's so many things... you have these... obligations to your father, your family."

"You mean Bella Donna, den?" Gambit asked in a severe tone.

"No" it was her frail reply. She barely remembered that name. "It's not it. It's just that the little you told me about this Guild of yours, it's clear you have responsibilities."

"Responsibilities you think I wouldn't give up on for you?"

"Responsibilities that might run out of our control."

"Would you go to New Orleans with me if I asked you to?"

"Yes" she answered so fast and assured that she herself was surprised. "Would you join the X-Men?"

"Yeah" he answered, although not as fast as she did. "No use worrying about it now. We'll cross the bridge when we come to it."

* * *

They had just started eating dinner that night when a thunderstorm made the lights go out. Gambit used a playing card to light up the way and went out the backdoor in order to look for what had occurred. Rogue stayed close to the door while Gambit went out of sight. Minutes later anxiety was pushing her into going after him. That was not necessary, though. Gambit showed up in front of her eyes, completely soaked. Rogue startled.

"De generator" he said. "it's out. No use trying to fix it in this weather. I'll see what I can do first thing in the morning."

"I think Ah saw candles somewhere" she remembered.

Using another card to light up the way, they went through the kitchen drawers. Found, in the bottom of a drawer, two flashlights – out of which only one worked – and some candles.

"We'll eat by candlelight then" he said with a wicked yet charming smile, after drying and changing into clean clothes. "It's kinda romantic."

"Not bad" she agreed, taking a seat.

As there was no candle holder, they placed them on saucers and spread a dozen of them around the house. Since there were two packs in the drawer they should last long enough.

After dinner, they played cards to pass the time, however the darkness, the heat and Gambit's innuendo made it hard to focus.

Remy sat down on the couch and Rogue laid her head down on his lap. Every now and then he leaned to steal a kiss. They chatted about various subjects. Gambit learned of Rogue's passion for motorcycles and classic movies. She learned that Gambit wore braces when he was twelve and she came to the conclusion he was a closeted nerd, because of his obvious love for the likes of Star Trek and Buffy, the Vampire-Slayer. Among other things, jazz was a mutual passion.

"Your chin looks huge from down here" she said to tease him.

"An' from up here you look like you're wearing a wig made of a skunk."

She sat up, her mouth wide-open in outrage. "How dare you, swamp rat?"

"Says the river rat."

As it always was, teasing led to a long kiss, which turned into another kiss and another. Started out smooth and gradually changed and became harder and more intense. Rogue felt her throat dry. Their lips throbbing, wanting more. His eyes looked even darker and more ardent. The shadows cast by the flickering flame danced over them.

They shifted positions, fitting their bodies together. Instinctively, she straddled him, their tongues exploring, trying different angles. His hands went up and down her legs, and then her back, under the tank top. She found herself arching at every touch of the palms of his hands that dared to go farther and farther. His fingers outlining the shape of her body, exploring every curve. The heat increased with each second, making it impossible not to gasp.

Thinking that his shirt was in the way of her hands, she pulled it up. He finished the movement and did the same with her tank top. With a herculean effort, she moved her body away from his and blew out the candles in a puff of air. She stood up and took slow steps backwards to the bedroom. When Gambit got up to go after her, Rogue turned around to gain distance and stumbled, falling to the ground in a burst of laughter. He lifted her up, pulling her to him, and the two went to bed, bodies and mouths together.

They found themselves inside the mosquito net, rolling over the sheets, wrinkling them and moving them out of place. There was only the wavering light of the candles, placed beside the now useless lamp. Their few pieces of clothing fell, leaving behind their skins burning from the heat and touching.

Lying on her back, she found it more difficult to move with each second. Following the example of his hands, now his lips explored every inch of her body completely at his disposal.

The movements of their hands were no longer coherent, hair, back, legs, they never stopped. It never seemed to be enough. Their sweaty bodies moved desperately until they finally found synchronism. When his lips found her mouth again, he was between her legs, which she wrapped around his waist. She bit her lip and pressed her body against his.

At some point, they rolled over and reversed their positions. Sitting on top of him, she moved her body back and forth, feeling his hands all over her skin. A shiver went up her back in a wave of pleasure. Their bodies trembled almost at the same time and she collapsed on his breathless chest.

She rolled to the side and he covered her up with the sheet. They lay facing each other, barely any space between them. Her eyes fell closed as he stroked her cheek and got a smile in return.

 **To be continued…**

 **xXxXx**


End file.
